One Last Stitch
by sweetsheart
Summary: Stitches Stein is used to a challenge, which will prove to be an advantage with many of them coming her way only a few months out of the DWMA. How will she deal with missions, a birth, a death, a retirement and a marriage, not to mention learning about just how many secrets Shibusen keeps? Stein/Marie, OC/OC, some Kid/Maka. The final story in the 'Stitches' series.
1. Starting Something New

**A/N: Welcome to the beginning of the final story in the Stitches series! Oh, God, I can't believe we're this far in. 90 chapters so far, thirty to go. These first four or so chapters are very close together – think a week or two. It begins in early December.**

**This chapter is dedicated to you, my readers. **

"So… this is what we do?"

"It is indeed, kiddo." Spirit replied. Stitches turned to Spirit and sighed.

"Do we actually do anything while the students aren't here?" Stitches asked. Spirit smirked and shook his head.

"Not really. We sit around just in case." Spirit said, standing up and walking over to the counter in the faculty room. He turned to Stitches and sighed.

"I'm sorry it's boring." Spirit said. Stitches smirked.

"I really don't care. It's the experience that counts, and," Stitches said, resting her head on her hands and laying back on the couch, "if that experience entails lying around Shibusen's faculty room, I'm quite okay with it." Stitches ended. Spirit chuckled slightly.

"You're so much like your father was at your age." Spirit said. Stitches opened one eye and glared at Spirit.

"What, lazy?" she asked, and Spirit cocked an eyebrow.

"… No." Spirit said. Stitches rolled her eyes.

"_Pssht." _Stitches replied.

"And, when you do that, you're like your mother." Spirit ended. Stitches shook her head and closed her eyes once more.

"I've got it worked out. If I want someone to trust me, I'm a Mjolnir. If I want to scare the hell out of someone," Stitches smirked, "I'm a Stein." Spirit smiled, shook his head and picked up the coffee he'd just made.

"And you can't forget, you're Shelley Yumi when your parents are mad at you." Spirit remarked, sitting on one of the chairs across from Stitches, and she smirked.

"Please. My parents are never mad at me." she replied, and Spirit took a sip of coffee and nodded.

"Got it." he replied. Just then, someone else walked into the faculty room.

"Good to see the security forces of Death City hard at work." the voice said.

"Nice to see you too, Papa." Stitches replied, sitting up and scratching her head, sliding her glasses back on. Stein smirked and pulled a rolling chair across from the edge of the room, sitting on it backwards and situating himself between Spirit and Stitches.

"Still nothing?" Stein asked. Spirit sighed and put his coffee down.

"Nope. Vacation time's always quiet. Apparently our enemies need holidays too." Spirit remarked.

"It's kind of cool watching the first years that have come in for early vacation training. They're all bumbling around, dazed and confused." Stitches added.

"_You_ were a first-year bumbling around having no idea what was going on not that long ago." Stein noted. Stitches crossed her arms.

"Come on, Papa. I'm an adult, now. I was thirteen when I started." Stitches said. Spirit smirked as Stein's face contorted in discomfort.

"Please don't remind me." Stein replied. Stitches sighed and Spirit laughed.

"C'mon, Stein, man up. I'm a grandfather, for Death's sake. I've got a grandkid." Spirit crossed his arms.

"Who you love very much and wouldn't give up for the world." Stitches added. Spirit smirked and nodded.

"I know." Spirit smirked, pushing his red hair out of his face.

"Good." Stitches said, crossing her legs and sighing. Spirit glanced over at both of the people in the faculty room with him.

"I tell you what, though, seeing a kid grow up again is a real trip. Especially without…" Spirit's eyes closed as he looked down, realising just what he was about to say. Stitches looked at her father.

"_Kami?_" she mouthed. Stein simply nodded. Stitches sighed and stood up, resting her hand on Spirit's back. Stitches had been told about Kami in the holidays before her third year at Shibusen.

"It's okay, Uncle Spirit." Stitches said, glancing down at the obviously affected man. It had been so many years, but it still hurt. He didn't know where she was, still.

"Ignore me, Stitches. I'm an idiot." Spirit smirked. Stitches glared at her father before he could even _begin_ replying.

"You're not an idiot. And Junior's got you and Shinigami-sama as grandparents. I think he's going to be fine." Stitches smiled. Spirit crossed his arms and smirked.

"That or totally and utterly messed up." Spirit replied. Stitches sighed and raised an eyebrow.

"Hello? Look at who's going to be my children's only grandfather." Stitches motioned to her father. Stein sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Thank you for that vote of confidence, one and only daughter." Stein huffed. Stitches stood up and rested her elbow on Stein's shoulder.

"No problem, Papa." she smiled, walking out of the faculty room. Stein noticed Spirit's smirk and sighed.

"What?" Stein asked.

"You do know that the comment she made implies she's already chosen the father of her children. Someone without a father. And if I was a betting man, which I am, I'd bet on someone who's blonde and is petrified of you." Spirit said. Stein's eyes narrowed further.

"Don't even." Stein crossed his arms.

"Stein, man, as far as boyfriends go, Stitches has got herself a good one. You don't get to complain until your son-in-law is the kid who's gonna run this town one day." Spirit said to the scientist.

"I don't?" Stein asked. Spirit chuckled.

"Nope." Spirit smirked. Stein sighed and dropped his head backwards.

"Watch me." Stein replied.

* * *

"No, keep your arm _straight_. You'll get a broken bone with a technique like that." the bandaged woman said, before glancing up at Stitches. She gave a small smile before instructing the students to spar. She let them begin, Sid stepping in to umpire the spar. Naigus took Stitches off to the side and smiled at her.

"How are you?" she asked. Stitches smiled.

"Oh, I'm alright. It's a bit boring, hanging around here, but I s'pose that's a good thing. How are the new batch?" Stitches asked, referring to some of the students who had come in for orientation before starting at Shibusen in the new year – the students Mina would hopefully begin teaching. Naigus sighed.

"Some of them have potential. Some of them are only here for the sake of having Shibusen on their resumes." Naigus sighed. Stitches looked at her, a puzzled expression on her face.

"What's the matter, Aunt Mira?" Stitches asked. Naigus looked at her.

"Shibusen's not what it used to be. We need more teachers. People like your parents and I are getting older, we won't be teaching much longer." Naigus said. Stitches nodded and spoke.

"You didn't get many teachers from the E.A.T classes before mine, did you?" Stitches asked. Naigus shook her head.

"They just don't do that anymore." Naigus said. Stitches sighed and crossed her arms.

"Has Mina talked to you about helping with sparring?" Stitches asked. Naigus nodded.

"She should get clearance soon. She'll be invaluable here. We need people that have been taught by Shibusen. She's been taught by your father, and his techniques will be important in teaching the new generation." Naigus said. Stitches nodded.

"Yeah. Well, I'll help if you need me to. There aren't many Deathscythe duties around here, anyway." Stitches said. Naigus smiled and nodded.

"That'd be great, Stitches." Naigus said. Stitches nodded before saying goodbye to Naigus and Sid and walking out of the gymnasium.

Walking down the halls, Stitches found herself becoming reminiscent. She'd only been gone for about a month, and already, there was soon going to be a whole new set of kids in, going through all the same things she and her friends had to go through; the same things her parents went through before her.

She was jolted from her thoughts when she, quite literally, walked into her father.

"Oh, Papa. Hi." Stitches said, looking up at her smirking father.

"What are you smirking about?" Stitches asked, shoving her hands in her pockets and walking slowly alongside Stein.

"Your mother always used to tell me off for that. Still does, as a matter of fact." Stein said. Stitches looked up at him.

"For what?" Stitches asked. Stein chuckled slightly.

"You go off the planet for a while. So, go on, what were you thinking about?" Stein asked. Stitches sighed and looked at the ground.

"I was talking to Aunt Mira. There aren't going to be enough teachers soon and… and I don't want to see my school run to the ground. The Kishin will run wild." Stitches said. Stein chuckled slightly.

"Shinigami-sama won't let that happen. You know that." Stein said.

"Yeah, but… Why doesn't anyone else think about this pointless crap but me?" Stitches asked, laughing exasperatedly. Stein smirked once again, resting his elbow on Stitches' head, much to her discontent.

"Because, no matter how hard you try to deny it, you're my daughter. And I think about futile things all the time." Stein replied. Stitches sighed and slouched.

"Get your elbow off my head, Papa." Stitches growled. Stein smirked and shook his head.

"No." he replied, simply. Stitches smirked widely and half-formed, brandishing the mallet-like end` of her forearm in Stein's face.

"Get your elbow off my head, Papa." she repeated. Needless to say, Stein obliged.

"You are your mother's daughter, aren't you?" Stein asked.

"Well, I'd hope so. Otherwise you took home the wrong silver-haired baby at the hospital." Stitches smiled. Stein shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"You're far too smart for your own good." he said. Stitches smiled widely and walked ahead of her father.

"Learnt from the best, Papa." she replied.

* * *

"Clearance? Come on, I went to that school! They know more about me than I do!" Mina exclaimed, resting back on the couch.

"Yeah, well. They don't want just _anyone_ beating up the little kids." Stitches replied, sitting at the end of the couch.

"I bet they'd let _you_ work straightaway." Mina said, exasperatedly.

"Oh, shush, you." Stitches crossed her arms.

"Why can't I have your parents?" Mina asked. Stitches sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Do I really need to be giving a sex ed lesson this late in the afternoon?" Stitches asked. Mina grinned at Stitches, laughing slightly.

"And how _is_ your dad?" Stitches asked. Mina sighed and smiled.

"My dad is _wonderful._" Mina grinned, squeezing her eyes shut. Stitches sighed and rolled her eyes. She noticed one of Mina's eyes open and a small smirk appear on her face.

"What are you-_mmph!_" Stitches' voice was muffled when Thomas took her lips with his, pressing her up against the back of the couch.

"Good afternoon to you too, Thomas." Mina said, sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest. Thomas pulled away and grinned at Stitches, who was sufficiently flustered.

"How was your first day?" Thomas asked.

"I… Uh, yeah, first day," Stitches scratched the back of her head, coming back down to Earth, "uh, pretty boring, to be perfectly honest."

"Really?" Thomas asked, taking a seat next to Stitches.

"Pretty much. I spent most of it watching first-years beating each other up and trying to work out how the hell my father gets around that school so damn quickly."Stitches said. Thomas smirked.

"It's the chair." Thomas said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the chair." Stitches replied.

**A/N: So, there's your first chapter. 29 to go!**

**First factoid of the last story, wow, yeah.**

**Factoid #22: It was only when I got to writing this chapter that I realised that I'd kind of lost track of my timeline for this story.**

**I had to shift all of the timeline back – chapter 29 of the third story was supposed to be Christmas, but a rather major plot-point wouldn't have fit if I'd done that. So it became Thomas' birthday and meant I had to squeeze the first few chapters of this story into about a month. I did tell you that the only things I kept continuity with were fluff and sex, right? A timeline is neither.**


	2. Their War Wounds

**A/N: This chapter is alternately titled **_**I Can't Be Bothered Writing A Fight Scene**_**.**

Not long after Stitches began working with Spirit around Shibusen and Death City, Mina was cleared to start working with Naigus and the first years.

"Right, these three are the kids who Stein has singled out as having the Soul Menace ability." Naigus said to Mina. Mina put her hands on her hips and nodded.

"Three of them? I'm pretty sure I was the only one in my class who could do it." Mina said.

"Well, apparently, Shibusens have been breeding. Good luck." Naigus said, walking away. Mina stood in front of the three students.

"So… you guys have Soul Menace?" Mina asked. They all nodded. Mina nodded back and looked at all of the young meisters.

"I'm impressed you're all here during your vacation time. Well, what are your names?" Mina asked. The first boy spoke up.

"I-uh-I'm… I'm Kyo." he said, looking down and away. Mina nodded. The next boy spoke up, and he looked somewhat familiar.

"I am the _great_ Spike!" the boy exclaimed, his hands on his hips, blue hair falling over his eyes. The girl to his right looked away embarrassedly.

"Wow, I wonder who _your_ dad is." Mina remarked. The girl sighed, glaring at her brother, blue hair in a bun above her head.

"Quiet! Mama told you not to do this!" she exclaimed. Mina smirked slightly and turned around, noticing that Stitches was behind her.

"Hey!" she smiled. Stitches smiled and looked at the three teenagers.

"How are you going?" Stitches asked. It wasn't only about the job; Thomas and Joseph had left for their witch battle a few hours ago.

"Oh, holding up. You?" Mina asked.

"Oh, I've gotta go back to Martha in a minute. She's in Shinigami-sama's office with Mama at the moment. She's not holding up too well." Stitches sighed. Mina looked on sympathetically. Stitches looked past Mina to the three students behind her.

"Oh! These must be the Soul Menace kids that Papa told me about. Kyo, Spike and Daisy, isn't it?" Stitches asked. The kids all nodded.

"Are you Doctor Stein's daughter?" Daisy asked, and Stitches nodded.

"You're Black*Star and Tsubaki's daughter, right?" she asked, and Daisy blinked.

"You know them?" she asked, and Mina laughed.

"Please. If someone is anyone around here, Stitches probably met them when she was three weeks old." Mina said, and Stitches sighed.

"Your parents were in my parents' class when I was born. I'm sure you can ask them about Doctor Stein and Marie-sensei's daughter running around their classroom and distracting everyone." Stitches remarked, and Daisy smiled.

"I think Mama may have mentioned that." Daisy said, and Stitches smiled.

"And I'm a Deathscythe now, so she and I will probably see more of one another." Stitches said, and Daisy nodded.

"So, you're Doctor Stein's daughter _and_ a Deathscythe? I'm sure you think you're powerful, yes? Well, I will-" Spike shut his mouth when Stitches turned her forearm into a hammer.

"Give it a couple of years, then I might think about it." Stitches said, turning away and walking out of the gym. Spike recoiled slightly, Mina turning around and chuckling.

"Not worth it, man. Trust me. Because, if you _did_ beat her in a spar, word would get around that you hurt Doctor Stein's precious baby daughter. And then you'd regret it. Sparring with Doctor Stein is like running towards a moving car. You're coming off second best, every time." Mina said. Spike sighed and crossed his arms.

"_You_ might come off second best, but I, the mighty Spike, can-"

"Dude, I'm a three-star-meister and the last time I beat him was… _never_. Sid-sensei very rarely beats him, and have you _seen _that dude? That's rule number one of Shibusen; you don't provoke the Doc. And beating up his only kid counts as provocation. And I don't want to see any of my first batch of students killed." Mina said, crossing her arms.

"Fine." Spike moaned.

"Mina-sensei, what should we start with?" Daisy asked. Mina looked at Daisy. _Mina-sensei_. It sounded weird to her, but she'd get used to it.

"How about I show you what I've got, hey?" Mina asked.

* * *

"He's going to be fine, Martha. I'm sure." Stitches said, rubbing small circles into the scared woman's back. Martha, whose reserve of tears had run out long ago, looked up at Stitches through red eyes.

"He's all I've got, Shelley." Martha said, quietly. Stitches nodded and exhaled shakily. After a few minutes, a noise came from Shinigami-sama's mirror.

"Martha, wait here." Stitches said. Martha nodded and Stitches ran towards the mirror as Mina did that same, both standing just behind Shinigami-sama. After a couple of seconds, two faces popped up on the screen.

"Thomas…" Stitches trailed off, clasping her hand over her mouth.

"I'm fine, I promise." he rasped. His hair was matted with blood and cuts littered his body. Joseph was holding a purple soul in front of him and was obviously supporting Thomas. They were standing against a building, communicating through a reflective window.

"Check it out!" he called.

"So, you did it?" Mina asked. Thomas nodded but winced as he did.

"Thomas… you sure you're okay?" Mina asked, and Thomas simply blinked at Mina. Stitches lurched forward.

"You… you're really hurt!" Stitches exclaimed, narrowing her eyes. Thomas shook his head.

"I'll be fine. I promise." Thomas said. Stitches sighed and crossed her arms.

"I'm not sure I believe you." she murmured, and Joseph smirked.

"You should've seen him. My meister is a _badass._" Joseph said, and Thomas frowned.

"_Shut up! _I'm not. I'm really not." Thomas' eyes flicked back to the mirror and Stitches clicked her tongue.

"Alright. Uncle Sid and Aunt Mira are coming to collect you. I'm going to go and tell Martha that you're okay." Stitches said. She walked over to the white-haired woman, whose eyes were wide and fearful.

"He looks like he's a little bit worse for wear, but he's okay." she said, quietly, hugging Martha tightly.

"That boy worries me far too much." she managed, and Stitches laughed and kept her arms fixed around Martha tightly.

"Tell me about it." she murmured. Martha sighed and pulled back, and Stitches smiled.

"I'll keep a watch on him tonight, because I'm sure he won't want any treatment. Papa's taught me what to look out for." Stitches promised, and Martha nodded.

"Thank you." she smiled, and Stitches nodded.

"No problems at all. One of us has to tell him off for scaring us half to death." she said, and Martha nodded.

"Indeed." Martha said, and Stitches smiled before walking over to her mother.

"Are you alright, baby?" Marie asked. Stitches nodded and shakily stepped into her mother's arms.

"Oh, Mama, that was the longest day of my life." Stitches whispered.

"How do you think we felt when you were gone?" Marie asked. Stitches sighed and took a deep breath in. Mina walked over to the two of them, a wide smile on her face and red rings around her eyes.

"I'm such a girl." Mina said, laughing slightly as she wiped away the arbitrary tears still lingering in her eyes. Stitches shook her head.

"They did it." Stitches smiled. Mina nodded.

"Finally _I_ get to sleep with a Deathscythe." Mina said.

"Really? Because, my mother is _right_ there." Stitches said. Marie giggled and put her hand on Stitches' shoulder.

"I'm not a prude, honey." Marie said. Stitches looked up at her mother.

"Oh, please, no, I don't need to hear about your escapades." Stitches said. Marie smiled and shook her head.

"Come here." she said, hugging Stitches once more before she walked off with Mina. Mina chuckled slightly and turned to Stitches.

"I bet your parents have a rampant middle-aged sex life." Mina said. Stitches shoved her and she nearly fell over.

"Don't even _go_ there." she growled.

"You love it when I go there." Mina remarked.

"No, I really don't." Stitches crossed her arms, and Mina sighed and shook her head.

"You do." Mina giggled, and Stitches sighed.

"Why are we friends?" Stitches asked, and Mina slung her arms around Stitches' shoulders.

"Because you love me and I'm perfect, Miss Stein." she remarked, and Stitches rolled her eyes.

"I hate when you're right." Stitches said, and Mina pressed a kiss to Stitches' temple and giggled.

"Which is always." she remarked.

* * *

"Come on, sit down here, Tom." Joseph helped ease the blonde to sit on the ground, and he groaned.

"Sid-sensei and Naigus-sensei are gonna be here any minute now." Joseph said, and the blonde nodded, trying to ignore the pain. Joseph sat down beside him and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Thanks, man." Joseph said, and Thomas cocked an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked, and Joseph rolled his eyes.

"I'm gonna be a Deathscythe 'cause of you." he said, and Thomas hit Joseph in the arm.

"Don't be stupid. Just as much you as it was me." he said, and Joseph laughed.

"Yeah. I'm the one with cuts all over myself because I did just as much as you did." Joseph said. Thomas frowned.

"I'd be nothing without a weapon, Joseph." Thomas said, and Joseph sighed.

"Yeah, well. I'm pretty great." he said, and Thomas laughed.

"Well. I don't know who would have wanted me as a meister if we hadn't been friends." Thomas said, and Joseph crossed his arms.

"Didn't Stitches say you might've been her meister?" he asked, and Thomas sighed.

"Yeah, but she and Mina were always going to be weapon and meister." he said, and Joseph smirked.

"I was going to pick someone cooler but I figured I'd give you a chance, hey?" he asked, and Thomas grinned back at the pistol.

"Please. I was immensely cool." he replied, and Joseph nodded.

"Oh, yeah. That stammer and the way you were just casually petrified of Doctor Stein and didn't attempt to hide it at all – chicks threw their underwear at you, I remember that." Joseph remarked, and Thomas rolled his eyes.

"What about you? _Oh, I don't want to be smart because it's not cool so I'd better pretend to be dumb to get all the ladies?_ That work for you?" Thomas asked, and Joseph grinned and laughed, shaking his head.

"We're a hell of a pair, Cameron." Joseph said.

"Indeed we are, Martin." Thomas replied. Joseph looked up to see two figures and he sighed, pushing himself to his feet.

"There's Sid-sensei and Naigus-sensei. Come on." Joseph held his hand out and the blonde pulled himself to his feet.

"You alright?" Joseph asked, pulling Thomas' arm around his shoulder so that he could support him.

"Yeah." Thomas managed, and Joseph nodded.

"Alright." he said, and the two slowly walked towards their teachers, having said their pieces to one another. They knew that all was settled with their conversation – it was the way they had been since they became friends in grade school, and it didn't appear it was going to change – not even when one of them was a Deathscythe.

* * *

"Ow." Thomas winced, sucking breath in between gritted teeth and turning his head to the side.

"I gotta clean it out, Thomas." Stitches said, wiping the warm, damp towel against the wound on his cheek.

"What did the witch have?" Stitches asked. Thomas closed his eyes.

"Shurikens. _Lots_ of shurikens." Thomas said. He looked around the apartment, blinking his eyes quickly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Stitches asked. Thomas sighed and let out a pained breath.

"I think so." he coughed. Stitches sighed.

"It's always the meisters who get hurt." Stitches said. Thomas opened his eyes.

"Or incredibly brave, selfless weapons who take human form to shield their meisters from attacks." Thomas added. Stitches sighed and crossed her arms.

"They're idiots." she said, and Thomas sighed.

"Sit up for me." she murmured, and Thomas' eyes widened.

"What?" she asked, and Thomas could do nothing as Stitches rolled his shirt up, revealing two more deep cuts on his stomach.

"Why aren't there cuts on your sh-" Stitches looked at Thomas, and he raised his eyebrows as she frowned. She then looked at the shirt Joseph had discarded before going to the bathroom to wash off the blood he'd gotten on him from supporting Thomas. She stood to pick it up and, sure enough, two large rips were in its front.

"You swapped shirts with Joseph, didn't you? You can't try and hide these things, Thomas!" Stitches exclaimed, striding back to the blonde.

"I didn't want you to worry or get _mad_ at me!" Thomas cried back, but as he did, he squeezed his eyes shut and brought his hand to his abdomen. Stitches exhaled and tipped her head to the side.

"I'm not going to get mad at you, Thomas." she quietened and prodded gently at the flesh around the cuts, and Thomas bucked underneath her.

"Why didn't you tell us it was this bad?" Stitches asked, eyes wide. Thomas exhaled shakily and shut his eyes. Stitches stood up, placing the damp towel on the arm of the couch. She noticed that it had already darkened to a dry-like colour – most likely due to the fact that his wounds had been open for a while. She walked over to the phone, picking up the receiver.

"What are you doing?" Thomas asked, nonchalantly.

"I'm calling Papa." Stitches replied. Thomas' eyes widened and he tried to sit up.

"_No!_ No, really, I'm fine, I promise…" Thomas started. Stitches sighed.

"You're a grown man! Why are you scared of him? He's not that bad!" Stitches exclaimed. Thomas sighed and shook his head.

"Stitches…"

"_He_ is a doctor and_ you_ are hurt." Stitches replied. After calling her father, with further complaints from her boyfriend, Stein said he'd come over and take a look at Thomas. After hanging up the phone, Joseph walked out of the bathroom and Mina emerged from her bedroom.

"Papa's coming over in a minute to check on Thomas." Stitches told them. Mina smirked and put her hands on her hips.

"Thomas, have you finally grown a pair?" Mina asked. Thomas grunted.

"He had no choice in the matter. He's hurt." Stitches said. Mina smiled and walked over to sit with Joseph on the couch across from Thomas, the latter making a whipping sound.

"I'm not whipped!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Yes, you are." Joseph replied, and Stitches glanced at the blonde across the room.

"So _that's _ the real reason you didn't want me to find the cuts. You didn't want me to call Papa." Stitches said, and Thomas frowned.

"That's stupid." he retorted, and Stitches rolled her eyes.

"But true." she replied.

"You know, I don't get how you can be terrified by one Stein and sleep with another, Tom." Joseph said.

"That's easy." Mina aid, and Joseph cocked an eyebrow.

"Boobs." she said, and Joseph smirked. A pillow came sailing at them and the blonde groaned at the exertion. Mina crossed her arms.

"Tell me it's not true." she remarked, and Thomas said nothing.

"That's what I thought." she said, and Joseph laughed.

"Don't you be mean to him. He just turned you into a Deathscythe." Stitches said, and Joseph sighed.

"I said thank you." he smirked, and even Thomas had to laugh at that.

"We're guys, we don't show gratitude." Joseph remarked.

"We just know." Thomas replied, and Stitches looked over at Mina. They shrugged at one another.

"_Boys._" they murmured.

**A/N: I suppose if you're going to be eighteen and scared of anyone, Stein's one of the more logical people.**

**Factoid #23: Spike and Daisy are Black*Star and Tsubaki's children. They were alluded to in chapter 23 of the second story (**_**Tsubaki had given birth before; twins, in fact…) **_**and also in chapter 30 of the third story (**_**You're all frazzled 'cause your kids are starting here next year…) **_**but this is the first time we've actually met them. **


	3. Shibusen's Latest Foe

**A/N: I don't know why I keep coming up with plot-points that involve fight scenes. I must be a masochist.**

"Mina!" Stitches called, running into the gym.

"Stitches, what is it?" Mina asked, turning around.

"We need to get out the front _now, _Mina!" Stitches grabbed Mina's arm and ran for the doors of the gym.

"Where are you going?" Naigus called.

"Deathscythe duty, Aunt Mira!" Stitches yelled before getting out of the gym. Mina ran alongside Stitches, full pelt, out to the front of Shibusen. There was a large, masked, armour-clad figure, wielding some sort of staff. A hiss rang out in the courtyard and a snake coiled up the staff and escaped down the man's armour.

"That's creepy." Stitches said. Mina nodded.

"Take your form." Mina said. Stitches nodded and formed in a flash of light, keeping half of her head and shoulders out the top of the hammer. Mina walked out of the doors and stood in front of the man.

"What do you want here?" Mina called.

"To destroy the insubordinate institution!" the man called back, steeling himself. Stitches scoffed and Mina smirked. She watched as Stitches took full form before looking back up.

"_He's expecting you to swing at him._" Stitches said.

"Okay." Mina said. She swung Stitches backwards and then ran at the masked man, and just when it appeared she was going to hit him, they put their unspoken plan into action.

"_Feign Crush!"_ With that exclamation, Mina threw Stitches over the masked man's shoulder.

The silver-haired hammer took her half-form, flipping in the air and landing on her feet. She then charged at the masked man, smacking him in the side of the skull and sending him tumbling to the side. By this point, Stitches and Mina had garnered quite an audience. Mina ran to collect Stitches once more, and she took her form as the redhead grasped her again.

"_Okay. He keeps the staff along his left arm, which has a bracelet on it. That bracelet matches the material his staff is made of, so, my theory is, there's some sort of conductivity going on there." _Stitches said. Mina looked down at her.

"_It's just a theory, but my wavelength should counteract conductive attacks. Plus, I sense he's got some…"_ Stitches began.

"Madness, yeah. Are you okay?" Mina asked.

"_I…" _Stitches stammered, "_Yeah. I'll be fine. I suspect the madness is what drove him to attack Shibusen."_ Stitches said. Mina nodded.

"Your wavelength's as good an idea as any." Mina said. Holding Stitches close to her chest, she heard her whisper the words.

"_Wavelength of Redemption_." Stitches said, her form glowing white before fading. Mina charged at the masked man with Stitches, but when she hit him, she flew backwards, Stitches falling out of her hands.

"_Stitches!_" Mina called. Stitches half-formed and tumbled to the ground, landing in a crouch.

"Smartass." Mina muttered. Stitches fell to the ground and scooted back against the building. The madness was creeping in, she could feel it, and if Mina couldn't deal with the threat soon it would encapsulate her.

"Spirit!" Mina called. Spirit strode towards the meister, standing before the masked man, who was nearly completely to his feet.

"Half-form?" he looked back at Mina. Mina shook her head and held her hand up.

"Give me a second… just… stay still!" Mina concentrated hard on Spirit's soul, and after a second or two, grunted and nodded.

"Got it! Come on!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches' eyes widened when Spirit formed and Mina wielded him with ease.

"How are you… what?!" Stitches called.

"You can thank my mother for this one." Mina replied, running at the masked man, swinging the scythe around her head and bringing it down in his back.

The mask man screamed in agony, falling flat on his face. Mina tried to catch her breath, consulting with her current weapon.

"Finish him?" she asked, breathily.

"If the Wavelength of Redemption didn't work, then we've got no choice." Spirit replied. Mina nodded and flicked Spirit above her head, twirling the scythe in between her fingers.

"_Souls' Resonance!"_ they both called, and within a minute, their resonance was at full power. The masked man staggered forwards at them, and Mina called out.

"_Witch-Hunt Slash!_" Mina called, and she struck the man in the shoulder, the witch-hunt slash becoming effective immediately. The man disintegrated, his soul left hovering in the air. Mina dropped Spirit to the ground and he took human form once again. Mina ran over to Stitches to check on her.

"Stitches, are you okay?" Mina asked.

"… What the _hell?!_" Stitches asked. Mina sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"The scythe thing? My mother. She had a versatile soul. Not like yours, though." Mina admitted.

"O-Okay… but… have you had any practise with a scythe?" Stitches asked. Mina shrugged.

"A little basic training, you know." Mina said. Stitches shook her head.

"Why didn't you tell anyone you had a versatile soul?" Stitches asked. Mina looked away and shoved her hands in her pockets.

"You… You told Papa, didn't you? That's why you got scythe training. Oh, Mina." Stitches said, crossing her arms.

"I may or may not have threatened him with death if he told you, or anyone else for that matter. I just… I didn't want to make you think that I was going to leave you for a more classic weapon. Because I'd never do that." Mina said.

"And I know that. Mina, don't you think I'd be proud that you have abilities like that?" Stitches asked. Mina nodded in defeat.

"I should have told you, I know." Mina said. Stitches smiled slightly and punched Mina in the arm.

"And all that crap you gave me for having a versatile soul." Stitches said. Mina sighed and looked at Stitches.

"It's not gonna stop. Plus, I've got jokes about everything your parentage, the fact that you're a hammer, short jokes… it's never-ending." Mina smirked. Stitches shook her head and sighed.

"You're terrible." Stitches said.

"I know." Mina replied. The two looked up as Spirit approached, and he glanced at Mina.

"Way to pull a number on me, kid." he said, and Mina crossed her arms.

"You're a Deathscythe, I figured you could handle it." she smirked, and Spirit sighed and shook his head.

"So I'm supposed to deal with everything you throw at me, hey?" he asked, and Mina nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much." she replied, and Spirit gave a small chuckle before turning to the Deathscythe on the ground and extending his hand. Stitches grabbed it and Spirit helped her to her feet, and Mina rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yeah, probably should have started with that, shouldn't I?" she asked, and Stitches and Spirit both nodded.

"You're a meister, it's not like you could know better." Spirit remarked, a tiny smirk on his face, and Mina put her hands on her hips.

"What was that? Sorry, couldn't hear you over my versatile soul." Mina remarked, and Stitches cleared her throat.

"Funny, I could hear him fine." she grinned, and Mina rolled her eyes.

"You guys can be really mean when you want to." she remarked, and Spirit smirked.

"I've known you too long to be nice." he said, and Mina cocked an eyebrow.

"You're nice to Stitches." she said.

"Yeah, but I'm her godfather. I'm her beacon of guidance." he remarked, and Stitches furrowed her eyebrows.

"Sure, Uncle Spirit." Stitches remarked, and Spirit crossed his arms.

"What's that supposed to mean, young lady?" he asked, and Stitches sighed.

"Nothing, I just always thought Aunt Yumi was more of the _beacon of guidance_ godparent." she said, and Spirit crossed his arms.

"Ah, come on. It's not like your parents made it easy for me to be number one godparent." he remarked, and Stitches sighed.

"It isn't a competition. I love you both equally." she stated, and Spirit crossed his arms.

"But me more, right?" he asked, and Stitches laughed and smirked.

"But, seriously, are you feeling alright? Because that guy was certified crazy." Spirit said, and Stitches nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks." she replied, and Spirit sighed.

"There you go. I'm the nice caring godparent." he replied, and Stitches smirked and rolled her eyes.

"If I agree, will you stop asking?" she asked. Spirit nodded.

"Fine." she smirked.

* * *

"Snakes – no way. Not a chance." Thomas shook his head, even agitated at the mention of the source of his phobia. Stitches laughed.

"That's your issue? What about Mina's soul?" Stitches asked.

"Okay. So, she didn't tell you?" Thomas asked, his arms wrapped around Stitches. The two were lying on the bed, waiting for Mina to get back with their dinner. Stitches was quite tired, and was in no way interested in doing anything but sleeping in bed that night.

"No. But, I sorta understand why. Papa, on the other hand… he's in trouble." Stitches crossed her arms against Thomas' side. Thomas smirked slightly.

"You're a braver woman than I." Thomas said.

"Yeah, you're not a very brave woman, are you?" Stitches said. Thomas feigned laughter and rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean." Thomas replied. Stitches smiled slightly and stretched, her eyes shutting slowly as she turned over. She leant back against Thomas, and he hooked his finger underneath her chin, pulling her up to face him. She opened her eyes and blinked quickly.

"Yes?" Stitches asked. Thomas smiled.

"You have very pretty eyes." he said, nonchalantly. Stitches went a slight shade of pink.

"If you're trying to get laid tonight, your attempts are fruitless." Stitches laughed.

"Just because I'm complimenting you doesn't mean I'm doing it to get laid." Thomas said. Stitches shrugged and leant against his side.

"It does, a little." Stitches smirked. Thomas sighed.

"I'm shocked you think that little of me, Shelley." he muttered. Stitches' eyes widened and she jumped to her knees, brandishing a pillow.

"What did you call me?" she asked. Thomas blinked his eyes quickly.

"I don't know?" Thomas asked.

"You called me _Shelley_!" Stitches said, smacking Thomas with the pillow.

"I didn't mean to!" he exclaimed, scuttling backwards.

"Yes you did!" Stitches said, not suppressing laughter, swinging the pillow at her boyfriend once more. Mina walked through the door and, after hearing the ruckus, decided to check it out.

"If you're naked, please hide." she said, stumbling to the doorway with her eyes shut. Stitches sighed and threw the pillow at Thomas once more, causing him to tumble off the bed and onto the floor.

"Stitches Stein, what did you do?" Mina asked. Stitches knelt up and put her hands on her hips.

"He called me Shelley." Stitches pouted.

"Well, sweetie, last time I checked, that was your name." Mina said.

"Well, yeah, but… you don't call me that!" Stitches said, as if it was the most self-evident concept in the world.

"Well, no, but do you really have to kill him for that? I'm sure there will come a more appropriate reason for you to kill him in the future? Wait 'til he knocks you up, _then_ kill him." Mina said. Stitches furrowed her brow and crossed her arms. Thomas crawled back up onto the bed sheepishly.

"You called her Shelley? Really?" Mina asked. Thomas sighed and flopped backward.

"Yes. Why?" Thomas asked. Mina sighed and chuckled, shaking her head.

"No reason," Mina said, "I just thought you'd have learnt by now."

"Learnt what?" Thomas asked. Mina smiled even wider.

"Never to mess with a Stein."

**A/N: He's only had, what, six years to learn that? **

**Factoid #24: As Mina said, she got her versatile soul from her mother. Both Aya and Albert were meisters, and Aya was a meister whilst she was a doctor, but both she and Albert stopped honing their craft upon the birth of their daughter. **


	4. Queries and Discoveries

**A/N: Be warned in this chapter – we're entering the apartment of two guys in their late teens and Death only knows what horrors lurk.**

"Oh, Death… why is it so clean?" Stitches said, walking into Thomas and Joseph's apartment.

"You didn't think it'd be clean?" Thomas asked.

"You're two young adult males living together platonically. Of course I didn't." Stitches said, sitting down on the couch.

"Ah, but see, you're forgetting one thing." Thomas said, sitting down next to Stitches, putting his arm around her shoulder and turning on the television.

"What's that?" Stitches asked.

"Ms Martha." Thomas said. Stitches nodded knowingly.

"I see. It makes sense now." Stitches laughed. Thomas sighed.

"Joseph still does nothing around the house." Thomas sighed. Stitches laughed slightly.

"Oh, I'd expect nothing less from him." Stitches smirked.

"Yeah. You really should come over more. Mina's always over. It'd be nice to have someone else over to block out the noise." Thomas said.

"They're that bad?" Stitches asked.

"Uh, yes. They were at it 'til four in the morning, the other day." Thomas said. Stitches' eyes widened and she turned to Thomas.

"No way." Stitches said. Thomas nodded.

"How does he… how do they… I'm gonna stop talking now." Stitches said. Thomas smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, that's probably best." Thomas agreed. Stitches smiled and sighed before the phone rang. Thomas stood up and made his way over to the receiver, picking it up.

"Yeah?" he said. Stitches rolled her eyes.

"That is _not_ how you answer a phone." she said, standing up and walking over the the kitchen cabinet nearest the phone, leaning on it. Thomas extended the hand holding the phone out to Stitches.

"It's Mina." Thomas said. Stitches raised an eyebrow but took the phone and held it to her ear.

"Yeah?" she said. Thomas smirked.

"That's _not_ how you answer a phone." Thomas retorted, dryly. Stitches punched him in the arm, hard enough for him to stagger to the side, laughing.

"_Stitches, you've gotta get down to Shibusen._" Mina said. Stitches sighed.

"Why?" Stitches asked.

"_Because! Shinigami-sama said that there's gonna be a year-long mission in Oceania soon and we're being seriously considered."_

"What?! That's… that's a long time, Mina. A-And Oceania… what, why us?" Stitches asked.

"_Oh, I don't know, let me see. You're a Deathscythe, a badass one at that, and your meister is pretty well the hottest thing to come through Shibusen since-_"

"No, Mina, I mean, they usually pick more experienced Deathscythes to do Oceanian missions. It's not that labour intensive, but when there's a mission, it's a hell of a mission." Stitches said.

"_I'm pretty sure your dad's going. That might be it._"

"Me going and Papa going are two very different things Mina, and you know that." Stitches said. Thomas was looking worried by this point in time.

"_I really don't know."_

"Well, who else is going?" Stitches asked.

"_Uh, just the Doc and Soul, last I heard._" Mina said. Stitches sighed.

"I'll be down in five. I just… I need to think it over. See you soon, Mina." Stitches said, hanging up the phone. Thomas looked at her expectantly.

"They want me to go to Oceania. For a year."

* * *

"A year is a long time for them, Shinigami-sama. They're a lot younger than the rest of us."

"I understand, Stein, but Stitches' wavelength would be invaluable. It's not madness, so it wouldn't affect you two. Plus, the experience would also be priceless for a young Deathscythe such as your daughter. But, we need a decision soon." Shinigami-sama said. Stein shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to the silver-haired girl. Stitches shrugged.

"I… I don't know." she stammered, nervously, looking at her father for guidance. Stein turned back to Shinigami-sama and sighed.

"Look. You can't expect her to make a decision so quickly. She's only seventeen, she's got a," Stein gave an audible noise of disdain, "a _boyfriend_, she's got a life here. It's a big ask, Shinigami-sama." Stein explained. Shinigami-sama threw his hands out to the side.

"Of course! I know that! She doesn't have to decide for _ages_ yet!" he exclaimed. Stein raised an eyebrow, as did his daughter in turn.

"But, just a minute ago, you were saying she had to decide soon." Stein said. Shinigami-sama chuckled.

"Nonsense! I didn't say that!" he exclaimed. Stein shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, Shinigami-sama. Well, we'll talk it over." Stein said, turning around and walking out of the office with Stitches and Mina. Stitches looked up at Stein, a worried look on her face.

"Papa, is Shinigami-sama okay?" Stitches asked. Stein smirked and chuckled slightly.

"What, do you mean is he losing it?" Stein asked. Stitches looked away.

"Yeah." she said, almost ashamedly. Stein chuckled once more.

"Stitches, he's been losing it since before your mother and I started at Shibusen. That's just who he is. Trust me, he's fine." Stein said. Stitches gave a small sigh of relief.

"That's good." Stitches said. Stein then glanced over at Mina.

"Are you going to go?" Stein asked her. Mina shrugged.

"Probably. I'm sure my students would relish in me being gone." Mina smirked. Stitches smiled at her friend, who returned a puzzled look.

"What are you smirking at?" Mina asked. Stitches giggled slightly.

"You called them _your_ students." Stitches said. Mina huffed.

"What can I say? I've grown to like the little sh-"

"Stitches?" a voice called. Stitches looked up and saw the smiling face of the sandy-haired woman who had just walked around the corner. Stein and Mina looked at Maka, and after a slightly shocked look, glanced at one another. Mina nodded at Stein and Stein nodded back. Mina smirked and crossed her arms.

"Maka!" she smiled widely, walking over to the corner and hugging the meister.

"What are you doing around here? Papa said you had a day off today." Maka said. Stitches sighed and rubbed her arm nervously.

"They want me to go to Oceania for a year." Stitches said. Maka's face dropped slightly and she wrapped her arms around the worried hammer.

"I'm sorry… I know it's a tough decision, isn't it?" Maka asked. Stitches nodded and pulled away from the hug after Maka.

"Yeah." Stitches sighed. Maka looked at her and gave a warm smile.

"Well, if you ever need, you're still welcome at Death Mansion. Junior's dying to see you." Maka smiled. Stitches gave a small smile and nodded.

"Thanks, Maka." Stitches said. Maka walked back to Stein and Mina with Stitches and smiled at the two.

"Mina, how are you going?" Maka asked. Mina shrugged.

"Alright, my students are irritating, but, you know." Mina said. Maka nodded and smiled.

"You get used to it." Maka said. Mina smirked slightly.

"I guess they're growing on me. Kyo and Daisy are alright. Spike, on the other hand…" Mina clenched her fists.

"You mean Spike, as in Star clan Spike?" Stein asked. Mina turned around and nodded.

"Yes. Yes I do." Mina said. Stein nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I feel your pain." Stein replied. Mina sighed and turned back to Maka.

"I suppose that _we_ should be asking you how _you _are, shouldn't we?" Mina asked. Maka's eyes widened and Stitches turned around, an eyebrow raised.

"Why'd you say it like that?" Stitches asked. Mina looked back at Stein and smirked.

"No reason. Just… asking how you are, Maka-sensei." Mina said. Maka sighed and turned Stitches around, an incredibly confused facial expression gracing her features. Maka smiled at Stitches and took her hand.

"Junior's getting a little brother or sister in a few months." Maka said. Stitches broke out a wide smile and she hugged her former mentor gently.

"Maka, that's great!" Stitches said. Maka nodded but the sadness still played in her eyes.

"Maka… what is it?" Stitches asked. Maka sighed and looked Stitches in the eyes.

"My pregnancy is the reason they asked you and Mina to go to Oceania. It meant that I couldn't go. My due date is a couple of months into the mission." Maka said.

"Wait –how far along are you?" Stitches asked. Maka glanced down.

"I…" she trailed off, and Stitches clicked her tongue. Maka looked up.

"Almost seven months." she said. Stitches' eyes widened.

"_Seven? _No way!You're barely showing, and I can only tell because I know!" Stitches exclaimed.

"It's a little baby – shinigami babies usually are at first. Junior was an exception. And I would have told you earlier but you had so much going on… we haven't told anyone but Papa and Junior. But the meisters know, and I know I should have told you, and…" Maka trailed off, and Stitches shook her head.

"No, no, it's fine. Don't worry." Stitches insisted. Maka sighed and looked at the weapon.

"Anyway… they were going to just send Mina, but they're not sure she's experienced enough to do it without a familiar weapon, and I-" Maka stopped talking when Stitches hugged her.

"Maka, it's not your fault. I'll think it over." Stitches whispered. Maka sighed and hugged Stitches back.

"I'm glad you're this amicable. Junior, on the other hand…" Maka sighed.

"Not too happy about a sibling?" Stitches asked. Maka shook her head. Stitches smirked.

"Ah, well. I'd have been annoyed with a sibling." Stitches replied. Stein and Mina walked forward and Stein rested his hand on Stitches' shoulder.

"Oh, if it was up to your mother, we'd have dozens running around." Stein said. Stitches sighed and crossed her arms.

"Well, it would have been like that, but then she had me and you both realised you got it perfect the first time around, right?" Stitches asked. Stein smirked.

"You keep telling yourself that, kid." Stein said. Stitches smiled widely.

"I will, Papa." she replied. Maka smiled and looked at Stitches.

"I'm glad being a Deathscythe hasn't changed you. I'd better get to Shinigami-sama." Maka said. Stitches nodded and moved out of the way.

"Wait, Maka-sensei, shouldn't that be 'Daddy-in-law'?" Mina asked. Maka chuckled slightly and waved at the three before walking off. Stitches turned to her father and her meister and frowned.

"I saw what you two did, you know." she said. Stein and Mina looked at one another, shrugging.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Mina said. Stitches turned around and walked off, throwing her hands in the air.

"Smartasses can see souls and suddenly they think they don't have to tell me things. You could have just _told _me she was pregnant." Stitches muttered to herself, crossing her arms. Stein and Mina followed her, Mina chuckling and Stein shaking his head.

"_Weapons._" they muttered to one another. Stitches turned around and brandished an index finger in front of her.

"I heard that." she snarled.

**A/N: SURPRISE! It occurred to me that people ****do**** often have more than one kid, and I needed a reason to have Stitches and Mina asked on the mission. Plus, babies are cute. She's really far along but when you've watched as much 'I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant' as I have, you know that women don't necessarily show when they're pregnant. The more you know.**

**Factoid #25: Originally, I was going to have Maka have her baby in the middle of the third story, but that was replaced with the Executioner storyline (which, retrospectively, was good as it allowed me to follow through with the witch and Mina's mother storyline.) **


	5. A Mother's Words

**A/N: Wow, an actual author's note - Maka is seven and a half months pregnant by the end of this chapter.**

"Stitches, Mama Mjolnir's here!" Mina called, letting Marie walk into hers and Stitches' apartment and watching as she sat down. An exclamation of shock erupted from Stitches' room and some quiet bickering ensured. Marie gave a small smile as Mina sat across from her, nursing a cup of coffee.

"Thomas slept over?" Marie asked. Mina smirked and nodded.

"Well, we use the term _sleeping_ very, _very_ loosely." Mina smirked. Marie smiled back at her daughter's meister and nodded. Mina's eyes widened and she put her coffee down.

"Oh, Marie, do you want a coffee?" Mina asked. She was getting used to the guest routine now that she was out in the big wide world.

"That'd be great, thank you, Mina." Marie smiled. Mina smiled back at her former teacher and stood from her chair, rolling up the sleeves of her baggy grey Shibusen jumper and walking into the kitchen.

After a minute or two, a rather red faced Stitches emerged from the bedroom.

"Hey, Mama." Stitches said, walking over to Marie and kissing her on the cheek. Marie couldn't help but give a small smirk as Stitches sat down, trying to cough to cover the sound of the shower turning on.

"Who do you think you're fooling?" Mina called from the kitchen.

"Shut up!" Stitches called, running her fingers through her short, silver hair. Marie laughed and sat back in her seat.

"So, Mama, what are you doing here?" Stitches asked. Marie clasped her hands together and sat forward slightly.

"Well, I just… I wanted to talk to you and Mina… and, apparently, Thomas… about the Oceania mission." Marie said. Stitches nodded, but at the same time blushed furiously. Mina walked out of the kitchen with a coffee, and set it down for Marie.

"Thanks, Mina." Marie smiled. Mina leant down to Stitches with a wicked smirk on her face.

"And _you'd_ better go and take your pill if you're planning on letting Thomas _sleep over_ another – _Oof!_" Mina fell sideways onto the couch when Stitches punched her in the arm. Stitches crossed her arms and smirked smugly. Marie sighed and shook her head at her daughter.

"Deathscythes should control their tempers." Marie said. Stitches raised an eyebrow.

"You punched Aunt Yumi in the face when you got back from Oceania." Stitches crossed her arms and gave her mother a small smirk. Marie shook her head and Mina laughed.

"You can't tell you two are related _at all_." Mina smirked, glancing over at the bathroom door.

"Oh, look who it is." Mina said, causing Stitches' head to fall into her hands and for Marie to look up. Thomas gave a small smile and a wave.

"Hi, Ms Mjolnir. Stitches… are you okay?" Thomas asked, concernedly. Stitches nodded, her hands still covering her face. Thomas took a seat on the spare chair and leant back. Stitches looked up at her mother and sighed.

"So, Mama, the mission?" Stitches asked. Marie nodded and put down her coffee.

"I… I just want to make sure that you're certain about what you want before you make any decisions." Marie said. Stitches nodded and clasped her hands together.

"Are you… Because you and Papa… it's because of that, right?" Stitches asked. Mina shot a confused look to the current and former Deathscythes, Thomas' face also plastered in a bewildered glance.

"Huh?" Mina asked. Stitches glanced over at Mina before looking back at Marie. Marie just gave a small, reassuring nod and looked over at the confused meisters.

"You know that Doctor Stein and I went to Shibusen together, right?" Marie asked. Thomas and Mina nodded.

"Well, we started going out towards the end of our Shibusen run." Marie said. Mina smirked and Thomas smiled, noticing his girlfriend's embarrassment.

"So, we'd been going out for a little while, and I was assigned to Oceania." Marie said, a sad look on her face, wistfulness lacing her tone. Mina's eyes softened and Stitches felt Thomas tightening his grip on her hand.

"What did you do?" Mina asked. Stitches' eyes flicked to the redhead – she was surprised she didn't know. Marie sighed and looked down, obviously ashamed at her decision.

"I went." she said, sadly. Mina and Thomas were somewhat shocked, but it seemed that Stitches realised something right then and there.

"But I… What if you didn't…? I might not have been… You?" Stitches muttered. Thomas and Mina raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I speak frazzled Stitches." Marie explained. Stitches pouted slightly and crossed her arms.

"I left for a long time, honey, yes I did. And, yes, it was a string of coincidences that brought your father and I back together. I like to believe that we would have found each other, with or without Asura's reawakening but… I don't know how true that is." Marie said, her voice falling to a whisper at the end of her sentence. Mina and Thomas looked at each other and knowing words were exchanged in a single glance. Thomas gently kissed Stitches' temple and stood from the couch, following Mina out of the room.

"Mama… what are you trying to say?" Stitches asked, shakily. Marie sighed and looked at her daughter.

"I'm not saying you definitely shouldn't go. Missions have changed since I went to Oceania. If they say you're only going for a year, then that's how long you go for." Marie made sure she made that clear, and Stitches nodded. Marie exhaled.

"I just… You've got a good thing going, not just with Thomas, but with your duties here, your meister, your friends… I don't want to see you lose that." Marie said. Stitches blinked quickly.

"I know how much it hurt me, leaving your father. It still hurts me to this day. Your father says he forgives me but… I just don't want you to make the decision before you're sure." Marie said, taking Stitches' hand. Stitches' eyes widened to a point where she was certain they couldn't widen any further.

"I know, Mama, I just… I want to do my bit. For Shibusen. For the fight against the Kishin. For-" Stitches' face dropped when Marie gave a small giggle.

"What are you laughing at?" Stitches crossed her arms. Marie composed herself completely and replied.

"Because you're so much like me. Your father… he laughed at me for being too idealistic." Marie sighed. Stitches chuckled.

"Oh, yeah. That sounds like Papa." Stitches smirked. Marie shook her head and gave a small smile.

"He wouldn't let you go if he wasn't going, you know that, right?" Marie asked. Stitches sighed and sunk back into her chair.

"But, what about you? We're both going to be gone for a year… Mama, what about you?" Stitches asked, the apprehension returning to her tone.

"Honey, I'll be fine. Aunt Yumi's offered to let me stay with her for the duration of your mission. We roomed together at Shibusen for a while, so hopefully we can still stand one another. This is up to you. Completely and utterly." Marie said.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Stitches asked, and Marie nodded.

"I'm just… I'm worried, Mama." she near whimpered.

"Stitches… Stitches, you're going to do fine. We're all going to be fine." Marie said. Stitches' eyes bolted wide again.

"What?" Marie asked. Stitches chuckled and shook her head.

"Nothing, you just… you sounded like Papa then." Stitches smiled. Marie sighed and threw her head backwards.

"Oh, Death, it's started." Marie said. Stitches chuckled.

"It's when you start going grey and become susceptible to madness that we're going to start worrying." Stitches smirked. Marie glanced at her daughter.

"Like you?" Marie asked. Stitches crossed her arms.

"Shush." Stitches glared. Marie simply laughed.

"Go on. You know you want to say it." Marie urged. Stitches furrowed her brow and sat forwards.

"It's silver." she quipped.

* * *

"So, the mission leaves tomorrow… Have you…?" Thomas whispered, as not to wake the people who had crashed on the couch around him and his girlfriend. Mina and Joseph were asleep, as were Cleo and Oliver, who had come over for New Year's celebrations and apparently liked it so much they had to stay.

The mission to Oceania was leaving tomorrow, and Stein, Soul and Mina were definitely going. Stitches was assigned to go, but she was allowed to pull out. She looked at her boyfriend earnestly and answered.

"I… I'm going. I have to." Stitches said, looking up at Thomas. She could virtually see his voice catching in his throat.

"I… I understand. I do." Thomas said. Stitches hugged Thomas tighter.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." she whispered, burying her head into Thomas' chest, quickly dampening his shirt with tears. Thomas chuckled and, holding back his own tears, shook his head.

"Stitches, I understand. I get it, and you're going to be back." Thomas said.

Stitches blinked quickly, before wriggling her hands out from around Thomas' waist and wrapped them around the back of her neck. She unclasped her silver hammer necklace, the necklace Thomas had given her the day they became official.

"Here. I want you to-"

"No. Stitches, you're not going to die out there, you-" Thomas started, but Stitches began to laugh.

"No, you dope. I want you to give it to me. _When_ I get back." Stitches insisted. Thomas took the necklace and held it tight in his fist.

"I will." Thomas promised.

"Good." she murmured and rested back against him.

"What am I supposed to do without you and Mina around?" Thomas asked, and Stitches glanced up.

"Keep that weapon of yours in check?" she asked, and Thomas sighed.

"Great." Thomas rolled his eyes, and Stitches laughed.

"Come on. I've got Mina to contend with for a year." Stitches replied, and Thomas exhaled gently and dropped his chin to her shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you." he murmured, and Stitches sighed gently.

"Stop saying it. You're making me feel bad." she replied.

"We should've gotten drunk." Thomas murmured, and Stitches gave a tiny laugh.

"Because I want to turn up to my first mission outside of Death City with a hangover." Stitches glanced up at the blonde and he shrugged.

"We might have overslept and they couldn't have sent you." Thomas said. Stitches frowned.

"Not helping the whole _make your girlfriend feel okay in her decisions_ thing, Thomas." She remarked.

"Sorry." He murmured, and Stitches shook her head.

"It's okay." she replied, and Thomas gently shut his eyes.

"A _year._" he mumbled, and Stitches nodded.

"Which reminds me." she stood up and Thomas cocked an eyebrow. He watched as Stitches navigated around the sleeping people around the room to stand at her bedroom door.

"What are you doing?" Thomas asked. Stitches sighed and dropped her shoulders.

"As you pointed out, I'm going for a _year_." Stitches remarked. Thomas remained puzzled.

"We're not going to be together _for a year. _Do the maths and get back to me." she stated, and she could see the lightbulb go off in her boyfriend's head.

Thomas virtually leapt from his seat.

**A/N: A wild story arc appears!**

**So, in response to a review that asked for more Kid/Maka – I can promise there will be more in this story. I'll try and put bits and pieces where it fits in with what I've already written. There will be more and it will be fluff :3**

**Factoid #26: This is one of the few times where it's actually stated that Stein and Marie dated pre-Stitches. But it's always been in the headcanon of my mind. That's literally all my mind is now. Headcanons.**


	6. Leaving It Behind

**A/N: Hiya, hiya, let's go!**

The day began as both Stein, Stitches and, honestly, the rest of the Shibusen faculty expected it to.

"Mama… Mama, it's going to be alright. We're going to be alright." Stitches wrapped her arms around her mother, who could not withhold the sobs that had been brewing ever since her partner and her daughter had decided to go to Oceania.

"I know, I… I just love you two so much. I…" Marie glanced down, suddenly feeling extraordinarily embarrassed.

"Aunt Mira? Aunt Yumi?" Stitches asked the two for help, which they provided. Azusa walked over to sit next to Marie and Naigus stood in front of her.

"Just stay with her for a minute, okay?" Stitches asked her father. Stein nodded, and Stitches walked over to where Mina was standing with Joseph and Thomas.

"Mama Mjolnir upset?" Mina asked. Stitches nodded.

"_That's_ the understatement of the century." Stitches said. After standing in silence for a minute or two, Mina's inappropriateness shone through.

"Bet they had lots of goodbye sex." she mumbled. That was enough for Stitches to punch her with enough force to send her halfway across the Death Room.

"Stop it, Stitches. We need her for the mission, we don't need you killing her." Stein called. Stitches crossed her arms and huffed.

"You'd better listen to Daddy dearest." Mina shuffled forwards. Stitches growled and looked forward at Shinigami-sama.

"Stein-kun, Soul-kun, are you ready?" Shinigami-sama asked. The silver haired scientist and the white-haired scythe walked forward, Soul standing next to Mina and Stein standing next to Stitches. She looked up at all of her fellow mission goers.

"So this is how Mama felt during her entire run as a Deathscythe." Stitches shrugged, suddenly feeling incredibly short. Stein rested his elbow on her head.

"_Don't. Even_." Stitches glared up at her father.

"Is that really any way to treat your father?" Stein asked. Stitches growled.

"Is _this_ any way to treat a girl who made Deathscythe at seventeen who can turn into a hammer at will?" Stitches retorted. Soul grinned and shook his head.

"She's impressive." Soul smirked. Mina nodded.

"Oh, yeah. She's stood up to the Doc… and she's won." Mina smiled in pride at her weapon.

"Okay. To make it official, Doctor Franken Stein, Mina West, Soul Eater and Shelley Stein. You are to be deployed at 0900 hours to the Oceania region, where you are to attempt to retrieve the Kishin device specified earlier. Correct?" Shinigami-sama asked. As the team leader, Stein replied.

"Correct." Stein nodded. The four of them the proceeded to walk out of the Death Room, trying desperately to ignore the people that they were leaving for a whole year.

"Shelley Stein. Ooh, fancy. I'm gonna call you by your full name all the time, now." Mina chuckled. Stitches sighed and shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Because the insanity and the silver hair don't make it hard enough to discern my reputation from my father's, thanks." Stitches sighed.

"Hey," Stein called back, "that insanity is like a family heirloom. I won't hear a word against it." Stitches couldn't help but laugh and shake her head.

"Okay, Papa." she replied.

* * *

Stitches tapped her fingers along the centre console of the plane that she, Soul, Stein and Mina were currently on. Her legs were currently locked under her seat, her eyes closed.

"Stitches." her father said, causing her to open one eye and look over at him.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"You'd better move your legs around. You don't want to get blood clots." Stein said. Stitches sighed and began to swing her legs around, a large sigh accompanying the movements. Mina was next to her, fast asleep, leaning on her shoulder, and Soul was on the other end, reading the in-flight magazine.

"You alright?" Stein asked. Stitches looked up at Stein and shook her head.

"I just… Papa, we're leaving everyone behind. Mama, Thomas, Joseph… everyone." Stitches sighed, dropping her head. Stein shook his head and sighed, placing his hand on top of Stitches'.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it's really hard leaving on missions, especially at your age. When your mother left, it was just… Look, that's not the point. She's staying with Aunt Yumi, and Thomas and Joseph are big enough and stupid enough to look after themselves." Stein said. Stitches sighed and rested her head backwards.

"So, where _exactly _are we going?" Stitches asked. Stein's eyes widened.

"Shelley Yumi Stein, are you telling me that you got on this plane without knowing where it was going?" Stein asked, sternly.

"No, I probably know where we're going, but my brain's just _so big_ that it'd take too long to recall." Stitches smirked.

"I think someone's getting their brain confused with their ego." Stein crossed his arms. Stitches glared at him through one open eye.

"Where are we going, Papa?" Stitches asked.

"We're going to be staying in a tactical base underground in Adelaide, Australia. We'll wait there until we get word on the exact coordinates of the Kishin device somewhere in the central desert." Stein explained. Stitches moaned and sighed.

"But it's _hot_ in the desert." she whined.

"Antarctica is a desert." Stein retorted. Stitches sighed and chuckled exasperatedly, pushing Mina off of her shoulder.

"Oh, this is going to be one hell of a year." Stitches said.

"Oh, yes." Stein said, tilting his head backwards and closing his eyes.

* * *

"Yeah, we got here fine." Stitches said into the phone, almost a full day after they had gotten on the plane to Australia.

"_Are you tired?_" Marie's voice asked.

"Very. Soul's already asleep, Papa's hanging on to talk to you, and Mina… well, she slept on the plane, so she's wide awake."

"_Oh, sounds like fun."_

"I'd better hand you over to Papa, he looks like he's about to pass out. Alright. I love you too, Mama. Bye." Stitches yawned, handing the phone to her father and walking to her suitcase.

"Okay, so, Mina, you and I are sharing a room. Papa and Soul get the separate rooms." Stitches said. Mina nodded.

"Okay, sounds good. I gather you probably want to sleep?" Mina asked. Stitches nodded. Australian time, it was eleven at night.

"Yeah, I do. You made the mistake of sleeping most of the time on the plane. You're going to be out of whack." Stitches said, pulling on an old, grey t-shirt.

"Yeah, well. I'll get with it." Mina said, tipping her suitcase contents onto the bed. Stitches sighed as several magazines fell onto the bed.

"Did you _really_ bring porn?" Stitches asked. Mina shook her head.

"It's not porn!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches stood up and picked up a magazine.

"Working the Pole: 69 tips on giving your guy - Mina, it's porn." Stitches said. Mina sighed and grabbed the magazine off of her weapon.

"It's not porn, it's Cosmopolitan. Death." Mina huffed.

"Porn." Stitches pulled back her quilt cover and got into the single bed.

"If that's porn, then what's that fanfiction stuff you read?" Mina asked. Stitches rolled her eyes.

"Literature." Stitches turned over, pulling the covers up over her head. Mina chuckled and walked out into the main room of the living quarters of the compound.

"… Okay, Marie. Alright. I love you too. Alright. Will do. Talk soon. Bye." Stein hung up the phone, before turning to the redhead.

"Porn? Really?" he asked, obviously having overheard hers and his daughter's conversation. Mina smirked and crossed her arms.

"Phone sex? Really?" Mina asked.

* * *

Stitches awoke to the loud ranting of Mina.

"_Franken Stein_, if you don't let me down, so help me, I will _beat you to death with your own daughter!_"

"Mina, wha-" Stitches didn't get to ask her question before she saw the sight. She pulled her glasses on to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Mina had been soul-stitched to the ceiling, her red hair falling over her face. Stitches stood up and took a deep breath in. She raised her hands above her head and muttered a phrase.

"_Soul-Stitch Removal_." she muttered, and the soul thread unravelled from Mina's feet up to her head, allowing Mina to fall feet first into a crouch.

"Wait… how do you do that? That's the Doc's stitching!" Mina asked.

"Our souls are very similar. Think of it as a glitch in soul evolution. We're so similar that I can cancel out abilities like that." Stitches said. Mina's eyes widened.

"So you can beat all of the Doc's-!"

"No. If he's swinging a scythe at me, I'm still screwed. But, I _can_ remove soul-stitching after you've said something. So, go on, what did you say?" Stitches asked. Mina wrung her hands.

"… I may or may not have insinuated that your parents had… telecommunicatory relations." Mina mumbled. Stitches winced and sighed.

"Why do you do this to me?" Stitches asked. Mina smirked and sighed.

"You love me." Mina said. Stitches crossed her arms.

"If you'd told me what you'd done before, I'd have left you up there. Now, stop getting yourself into mischief, and let me sleep." Stitches got back into bed and pulled the covers over her head once more. Mina sighed and walked out into the main living area. She was met by the white-haired Deathscythe.

"Soul? What are you doing up?" Mina asked.

"It's so hot here. It's January for Death's sake! It's supposed to be freezing!" Soul exclaimed, loudly.

"Australia's in a different hemisphere, the seasons are swapped over. Idiot." Stein called from the adjoining bedroom. Soul turned to the door and sighed.

"I knew that, Stein." he huffed.

"Sure you did. Now shut up." Stein said, throwing something at the door, causing it to slam. Soul sat down and took a deep breath in.

"So, you left anyone at home?" Soul asked. Mina sat on the opposite couch and nodded.

"Yeah. Boyfriend. You?" Mina asked. Soul shrugged.

"Ah, I don't know. There's a chick, but we're just casual." Soul replied. Mina nodded. Soul then spoke up once more.

"D'you think Tiny Stein's gonna hold up for this mission? She seemed pretty upset leaving her mother behind." Soul asked Mina. Mina took a deep breath in and thought about it for a second.

"I think she'll be alright. She's a Stein, after all." Mina said. Soul nodded and smirked.

"What are you smiling at?" Mina asked. Soul tilted his head back and sighed.

"Still can't believe Stein had a kid." Soul sighed.

"It's been nearly eighteen years, you'd think you'd have wrapped your head around it by now." Mina chuckled. Soul smirked and sat up.

"Yeah, I don't do _change_." Soul replied. Mina nodded and shrugged.

"Fair enough." she smirked.

**A/N: Tiny Stein – just another piece of literary genius from sweetsheart.**

**Factoid #27: ****The location of the mission, Adelaide, Australia, is my hometown. It's in South Australia. It's basically the city that's the butt of everyone's jokes, but it's actually quite nice. Everyone come visit. There we go, doing my bit for South Australian tourism.**


	7. The New Arrival

**A/N: This chapter is set on the 3****rd**** of February. For any avid readers, you'll know that Stitches' birthday is the 2****nd**** February. However, Adelaide is in front of Nevada, where Death City is, time-zone wise. So, I made it that they'd celebrate Stitches' birthday on the 3****rd****, so that everyone is Death City would call her when it was the 2****nd**** over there. Makes sense? Probably not. (But, seriously, if you remembered Stitches' birthday, you're literally the best.)**

"Stitches?" a voice called. Stitches turned over and blinked her eyes open wearily, making out the visage of her father.

"Ugh, I know it's my birthday and all, but, why so early?" Stitches asked. Stein shook his head.

"I am your father and I do know you. I wouldn't wake _you_, of all people, up early just to say _happy birthday_. Do give me some credit, child." Stein said. Stitches sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"What, then?" Stitches asked. Stein gave a small smirk and handed Stitches the phone. Stitches raised an eyebrow.

"Hello?" Stitches yawned.

"_Hey, sweetheart._" the voice said. Stitches' eyes widened.

"Maka?" Stitches asked with a small, tired smile.

"_Happy birthday, Stitches." _Maka said. Stitches smiled.

"Thanks, Maka." Stitches yawned once more.

"_Well, for your birthday, I've got a little bit of news._"

"What is it?" Stitches asked. Stitches heard fumbling on the other end of the phone.

"_Kid, come over here." _

"Maka?" Stitches asked.

"_I've got some people who'd like to say happy birthday, too."_

"Okay." Stitches smiled.

"_Happy birthday, Stitches. Hope Father's made it accommodating over there for you."_ Stitches recognised the voice of Kid, who seemed tired. The phone then changed hands once more.

"_H-Happy birthday, Stitches. Mama says you're in Australia!" _Junior exclaimed Stitches laughed and replied.

"I am, Junior. Thanks very much, you guy-"

"_Uh, hang on, there's one more person who'd like to wish you well._" Maka said, causing Stitches to raise an eyebrow.

"_Hear that?_" Maka asked. Stitches listened carefully.

"No, I do-" Stitches stopped when she heard it.

A little coo and a yawn.

"Maka, is that…?"

"_Aurora Spirit. Born on your birthday, honey." _Maka said. Stitches' eyes widened and she clasped her hand over her mouth.

"Maka! Congratulations!" Stitches exclaimed.

"_Thanks, sweetie. Aurora says thanks too. Sorry to steal your thunder, though."_

"Are you kidding?"

"_Yeah, well. I wanted to let you know. I really wish you were here to see Papa's face when we told him her middle name. He freaked. He's still crying." _Maka gave a little tired laugh.

"Uncle Spirit's kind of adorable." Stitches admitted.

"_Oh, yeah, I'd give you that one. But don't tell anyone I said that." _Maka said. Stitches laughed.

"Of course not. At least he's got a nice adaptable name, I suppose. Not too obvious." Stitches said.

"_That's true, sweetie._ _Well, I'd better go. Pushing out a baby really takes the wind out of one's sails. But Aurora is looking forward to meeting Aunty Stitches when she gets back." _Stitches smiled.

"Okay, Maka. Congratulations, again. I'll talk later. Alright. Give everyone my love! Bye!" Stitches grinned further as she hung up the phone.

"That worth waking you up?" Stein asked. Stitches nodded. Stein smirked and sat back on the bed.

"Consider yourself lucky you got told in a coherent manner. I just got your frazzled mother." Stein replied.

"_Oh, Death, Maka, baby, girl, baby, had, goodness, baby! _Was that it?" Stitches asked.

"Pretty much." Stein nodded, and Stitches laughed and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I miss her." she looked up, and just as Stein was poised to reply, Mina stirred and turned over, glaring at Stein and Stitches.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Mina asked. Stitches smiled and clasped her hands together.

"Maka had her baby. A little girl, Aurora Spirit, born today. On my birthday." Stitches smiled. Mina gave a tired grin and nodded.

"Cool, cool, now can we _go back to sleep?_" Mina asked. Stitches nodded and sat up, looking at Stein with expectant eyes.

"What?" Stein asked.

"Well, seeing as I'm up, I'm pretty sure it's time for my annual birthday hug." Stitches raised her eyebrows and Stein raised one in turn, before sighing and half-heartedly held his arms out.

"Oh, come on, enthusiasm, father!" Stitches exclaimed.

"It's three in the morning, no enthusiasm is running through my system." Stein admitted. Stitches smiled and shook her head, leaning forward and hugging her father tightly.

"Happy birthday. Now get back to sleep." Stein replied with a smirk.

* * *

"You be good for Grandpa Spirit, okay?" Maka asked, and the eight-year-old sitting on his father's lap nodded.

"I will, Mama." Junior said, and he cast his eyes over his baby sister once more.

"I told you she'd be cute." Kid said, quietly, and Junior shrugged.

"She's okay." Junior murmured.

"Hey," Spirit spoke up, and the boy looked up at his grandfather, "she's perfect. You're going to have to protect her, little man."

"Really?" Junior asked, and Spirit beckoned the boy, who slid off his father's lap.

"Really." he said, and Junior sighed and stood beside the redhead. Spirit stepped to Maka's bedside for a moment and gave a gentle smile.

"See you tomorrow, Maka." He leant down to kiss her on the forehead, and she smiled.

"Bye, Papa. See you tomorrow, Junior." She said, and the dark-haired boy nodded. The two left the hospital room, leaving Kid and Maka with their new daughter. The shinigami stood from the chair to be beside his wife's bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, gently resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Good," she murmured, "but that may be the drugs talking." Kid laughed gently and Maka glanced down at Aurora.

"I think your papa wants a hold, huh?" she asked, and Kid laughed at her baby talk. He reached over his wife to take Aurora into his arms, bringing the infant to his chest and looking at her.

"I always resented the fact that I was under pressure to produce heirs." he said, and Maka glanced sideways.

"Don't you look stupid now?" she asked, and Kid smirked and nodded.

"Didn't like the fact that everyone wanted me to get married, either." he glanced sideways, and Maka shrugged.

"You're the son of Shinigami-sama, I'm the daughter of his Deathscythe. Marriage of convenience." Maka smirked, and Kid nodded.

"I don't even like you." he retorted, and Maka laughed.

"I don't even like you either." she smiled, and Kid stood up to set Aurora down in the small crib at the end of the bed, watching as she gently cooed before settling into sleep once more. He clicked the side of Maka's bed down, and she pulled herself over to make room for Kid.

"I cannot begin to tell you," he slid himself down to lie flush against Maka's side, "just how much I don't like you." Maka gave a tiny smile and the shinigami returned her expression. He rested his hand on her hip and Maka placed her hand on top of it, and before Kid knew it, she was asleep. No sooner had he realised this than he heard a knock at the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I…?"

Kid looked to see Marie standing at the door, and he gave a small smile and stood from the bed.

"I didn't mean to leave a visit so late. I can't stay long, I have to contact Stitches for her birthday…" Marie sighed, and Kid realised full well the reason for her visit – seeing another's daughter because she desperately missed her own. He noticed that she held a small, white rabbit in her hands as he walked over to her.

"It's no problem, Marie-sensei." he said, and Marie frowned.

"You can call me Marie." she said, and Kid shrugged.

"I know that quite well, Marie-sensei." he said, and Marie exhaled gently.

"This is for her. If I recall-"

"Maka gave Stitches one when she was born." he said, and Marie smiled and nodded as the two walked over to the little girl, Kid gently picking her up and handing her to Marie.

"I do like the name you gave her." she looked at Kid, who rubbed the back of his neck.

"So does my father-in-law. You just missed him." Kid said, and Marie nodded.

"I passed him with Junior on the way in. Azusa sends her regards – so do Thomas and Joseph." Marie said, and Kid nodded.

"She looks like Maka." Marie said, and Kid glanced quickly at his sleeping wife before looking back at his daughter.

"Let's hope so." he remarked.

* * *

"Stitches! Mirror!"

The silver-haired hammer made her way to where her father, Mina and Soul were gathered, and making her way to the front she saw a welcome familiar face.

"Mama!" she smiled widely.

"Happy birthday, my gorgeous girl." Marie said, smiling widely. Stitches blushed and looked down, smiling as well.

"Thanks, Mama." Stitches clasped her hands together. Marie turned around and called out.

"Yumi?" she called. After a minute, Azusa walked out from a room behind Marie.

"Yes?" Azusa asked.

"Birthday girl." Marie said. Azusa walked over and leant down, giving a small smile into the mirror, an expression which none of the others had seen very often at all.

"Happy birthday, you." Azusa said, crossing her arms.

"Thanks, Aunt Yumi." Stitches smiled back, suddenly rather bashful about the attention she was receiving.

"I hope they're all treating you well over there." Azusa sat down next to Marie.

"They are. I trust you're looking after Mama?" Stitches asked. Azusa smiled and nodded.

"Been taking her to lots of strip clubs." Azusa nodded, shooting a look at Stein who simply shrugged and crossed his arms.

"I trust her. She trusts me." Stein said. Azusa looked down at Marie, a question written in her eyes.

"Yes, Yumi, I trust him. Anyway, he's too busy playing babysitter to cheat." Marie said.

"And too apathetic. Not to mention old." Stein replied. Marie gave a small smile and sighed.

"Oh! Stein! Did you give her the envelope?" Marie asked. Stein shook his head and subsequently rolled out of the room. Stitches knew better than to ask.

"So, how are Thomas and Joseph?" Stitches asked.

"Oh, yes, how is my loyal pet?" Mina asked, a small smile on her face.

"Well, why don't you ask them?" Marie asked, glancing downwards. Two familiar faces popped up at the bottom of the mirror.

"Happy birthday, Hammer Time!" Joseph exclaimed, a wide smiled on his face. Mina stepped forwards, a slight look of shock on her face. Stitches smiled widely and then looked at Thomas.

"Happy birthday, Stitches." he said, quietly. Stitches smiled and pressed her hand up against the mirror. Thomas smiled and pressed his hand against it too.

"Geez, Marie-sensei, you could told them we were here earlier." Joseph rubbed his knees.

"Yeah, it's sore being on your knees for ages." Thomas said. Mina gave a small smirk and began to speak.

"I'm sure Mama Mjolnir-" Mina stopped when Stitches' hand hovered over her mouth and she felt that she couldn't speak anymore.

"Too far." Stitches said. Mina mumbled through the soul stitching as Stein walked back into the room with an envelope. He looked over at the mumbling girl.

"Not bad." Stein said. Soul sighed and dropped his head back.

"Stein, you do realise you just missed the perfect opportunity to say 'Not bad stitches, Stitches,' right?" Soul asked. Stitches huffed and turned around, spreading her fingers and spinning a soul thread around her fingertips.

"D'you think I've never heard that one before?" Stitches asked. Soul simply chuckled, as did Marie and Azusa in the mirror.

"I sure can't deny Stein had a kid anymore," Soul remarked, "'cause you're definitely his."

* * *

Stitches sat back on her bed, smiling at the letter that her mother had written for her, the letter she had written for her before she left.

_Stitches,_

_Okay, so, it's your birthday. Eighteen._

_Stop that. You can stop this ageing thing. You're making me feel old._

_But seriously, I do hope you're having a fantastic time over there. And I wish I could be there for you on your birthday, doing all that motherly things that are supposed to happen on birthdays._

_Okay, advice… Oh. Your father._

_You haven't lived with him for this long for a while, but I'm sure you'll get used to it. Just cut him a little bit of slack, honey. And I know that you two are really close, and I just can't explain how glad that makes me. But, it took him a while to adapt to having a daughter, and he's going to have trouble adjusting to having a big, grown up, adult daughter._

_Ignore anything ridiculous your father says, though. He'll never admit it to anyone, but he gets flustered when he doesn't quite know how to go about something – and a daughter he never expected he'd have turning eighteen is one of those things. All you need to know is that, in the only way he knows how, which maybe a little off-beat at times, he loves you more than I've seen him love anything else in the world. Even that surgical kit he got for his sixteenth birthday, and he took that thing everywhere._

_Don't tell him I said that._

_Oh, uh, okay. Um, motherly things._

_Your boyfriend is a doll. Thomas has been freaking out in the days leading up to you leaving, and he really loves you, sweetheart. Plus, Martha and I already have baby names picked out for you two, so there's no use wasting them. Plus, Thomas is just __gorgeous._

_As your mother, I can say that, right?_

_I mean it in a good way. I do._

_Okay, I'll stop now. I hope you have an amazing eighteenth birthday, my wonderful, grown up baby girl. _

_I love you, sweetheart._

_Mama x_

Stitches smiled widely and felt tears welling in her eyes. Stein walked into the room as she sniffed, putting the letter to the side.

"You read it?" Stein asked. Stitches nodded. Stein walked over to her and sat at the foot of the bed.

"Yeah. Look at me, stupid, crying and all." Stitches laughed. Stein sighed and looked over at his daughter.

"Happy birthday, Stitches." Stein said, accompanied with a small smile. Stitches smiled back and clasped her hands together.

"Thank you, Papa." Stitches replied.

**A/N: Well, someone's getting old.**

**Factoid #28: Is this name more creative? Hopefully. I didn't actually get the name Aurora from any particular source, but I chose it because it reminds me of auras and auras remind me of souls and wavelengths and all that jazz. And I don't think Spirit has any relevance to anything, does it? No, I don't think so.**


	8. Madness in Combat

**A/N: Here we go, seriousface mission time!**

"No." the disembodied voice of Stitches called.

"Oh, please!" Mina cried, looking down at the hammer. The bare head and shoulders of Stitches popped out of the hammer.

"Mina, you are not riding me! You're a grown woman!" Stitches cried. Stein rolled his eyes and swung Soul forwards, the white-haired man's head and shoulders sticking out as well.

"Maka used to ride _me," _Soul began, and he was greeted with several odd looks.

"When the black blood was affecting her! Geez, not like… you guys are disgusting! She's married with kids!" he exclaimed.

"People have pasts." Mina retorted, and Soul scoffed and disappeared from the blade of the scythe, Stein swinging him back over to rest on his shoulder.

"I dread to think." Stein replied, and Mina smirked as they continued walking. After a few more minutes, both Stein and Mina stopped dead in their tracks.

"_Holy crap_." Mina whispered.

"What, what did I miss?" Stitches asked.

"A soul response. Whatever it is, it's not a Kishin egg soul. It seems more like a witch… no… it's not a witch." Stein thought out loud.

"Doc, it's a golem." Mina remarked.

"It's the soul response of a soulless golem?" Soul asked.

"No, she's right," Stein began, focusing hard on the response, "some golems are infused with their master's wavelength. It's a warning of sorts, it makes a usually wavelength-invisible golem visible again… they're forewarning us."

"So, they're getting cocky?" Mina asked. Stein swung Soul to cover the front of him.

"I'm not so sure… it may be warranted."Stein said. Mina nodded and angled herself forward, holding Stitches up in front of her ribcage.

"So, if it's an infused golem, my wavelength is useless." Stitches sighed.

"On the contrary," Stein began, leading Mina to slide against the wall of the underground cavern, "if you can hit the golem with your wavelength, then it may break the infusion with the master. That will either destroy the control completely of give us enough time to chain resonate and defeat it." Stein ended.

They were now two months into their mission, and the time had come to begin phase one of the Kishin device retrieval. They were going to scope the outer areas of the underground area, and were to map the areas before actually going in to retrieve the device.

"That's definitely what I was going to say." Mina said. Stitches gave a small chuckle.

"Okay," Stein stopped, "the golem is around the corner. Mina, you need to run first and distract it before I can hit him with Soul. Then, the aim is to hit it with the Wavelength of Redemption, okay?" Stein asked. Mina nodded and swung Stitches up over her shoulder.

"I'm a hammer, not a pickaxe." Stitches hissed. Mina shook her head and gave a small smile.

"Yeah, yeah." Mina said, and she began to run, however, when she turned the corner, she noticed that the ten-foot-tall golem was closer than she'd expected.

"Oh, crap!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches saw and gasped, before formulating a plan.

"Throw me!" Stitches yelled.

"What?!" Mina called back, still running from the golem whose attention they now well and truly had.

"Throw me over its shoulder! I'll half-form and get it away!" Stitches called. Mina nodded and, with a spin, threw the hammer as far as she could.

Stein ran out from behind the wall and watched as Stitches took her half-form in mid-air as she travelled towards the wall. She crouched and pushed off the wall, towards the golem. She landed on its shoulder, bringing her hammer down on its head with a loud crack.

"Uh, yeah, now would be a good time to _do things!" _Stitches exclaimed, continuing to hit the golem to not much avail.

"Mina, you two need to resonate to activate the wavelength, go!" Stein yelled. Mina ran, full pelt at the golem.

"Stitches, distract it!" Mina called. Stitches gave a noise of worry as the golem's hand rose above its head and grabbed her.

"_Help!_" Stitches called, but it was too late. The golem tossed her forwards, and she came screaming towards the ground. She took her weapon form and skidded along the dirt.

"You _bastard!_" Mina exclaimed, but she soon realised that she would be relatively useless without her weapon. She went to run for Stitches, or even Soul, but the golem stepped forwards onto her ribcage.

A sickening crack followed and Stitches screamed.

"_Mina!_" she yelled, and watched as the golem stepped off of Mina and retreated to another branch of the cavern.

"Mina, can you hear me?!" Stein yelled to the redhead, but he got no response. He dropped Soul to the ground and removed his labcoat, running over to the meister as Stitches ran behind him. Soul took human form and followed, the three crowding around the redhead.

"Mina… Mina, can you squeeze my hand?" Stein asked, picking up the young woman's hand. She weakly squeezed it, but winced in pain.

"Doc… help me." Mina wheezed. Stein's eyes widened.

"Okay, Mina I need you to cough into my hand." Stein said, insistently.

"That's gross, Doc." she rasped. Stein shook his head.

"I need to make sure that you aren't coughing up blood." Stein said. Mina took a small breath in and Stein covered her mouth as she coughed. He checked his hand for residue before wiping it on his trousers.

"Okay, there's no blood, so I don't think you punctured a lung, thank Death. But, you've certainly got some broken ribs. So, I'm going to get Soul to stay here with you. Stitches and I will go and deal with the golem." Stein said.

Mina nodded and Stein draped his coat over her, Soul sitting down next to her. She took a breath in and grabbed Soul's hand.

"Oh, that hurts like a _bitch_." Mina hissed. Soul looked down at the young woman and sighed.

"You'll be right. Stein'll get you out of here." Soul said, watching as Stein and Stitches ran in chase of the golem.

"Okay, how long can you hold your wavelength?" Stein asked his daughter as they continued chasing the golem.

"Uh, with you, probably a few minutes." Stitches said. She and her father were very near perfect resonance partners; their versatile souls both had a base state, and their base states were compatible with one another. Instead of having to change their souls to fit their partner, they could focus all of their power into resonance.

"Okay. The golem is just up ahead. I think I can hit it with your wavelength if we resonate now. Take form." Stein said, and Stitches obeyed. She took her most compact of forms, similar to her mother's tonfa, and she and Stein began the resonance.

"_Soul Resonance._" They said in unison, and after a minute, the resonance was complete and Stitches' wavelength was activated.

And she laughed.

"_Father… we need to cut it open_." Stitches' disembodied voice called.

"I agree." Stein replied.

That was the main problem with Stitches and Stein's resonance; it brought out immense power, yes, but they also brought out their internal, usually dormant madness. However, if the resonance was not pushed too far, they were functional.

Stein ran, full pelt, at the golem, who barely had time to respond before Stein ran past and behind him. The golem seemed larger close-up.

"I need more power!" Stein looked down at Stitches, and they called out in unison.

"_Izuna!"_

With that technique, the wavelength would not last as long, but Stein would be able to scale the golem and concentrate the wavelength at the source of the soul infusion.

"Go!" Stitches called, noticing that the golem was about to turn.

With a great burst of energy, Stein ran at the golem, leaping off of the ground and grabbing its wrist. It swung Stein around angrily, but on the second rotation, Stein slammed Stitches into the golem's abdomen, the wavelength radiating through the golem as it fell to the floor.

Stein fell to his feet and dropped Stitches, breaking the resonance and their madness.

Stitches took human form in time to see Stein climb up the golem, opening its front panel. He pulled out the tiny flicker of orange which resembled a soul. It was, however, only remnants, as it did not have a body.

"You want ninety-nine and a half souls?" Stein asked. Stitches sighed and rolled her eyes, walking past the golem as Stein slid down the other side. He held the soul, and for some reason, it felt… familiar. It was stronger than a usual fragment of a soul, and it was as if he'd encountered it before. However, Mina's condition was too tentative for him to look into it.

"I'm fine, thanks." Stitches replied, the worry returning to her voice.

"Okay, we have to go back and check on Mina." Stein said, and Stitches ran ahead, back to her meister.

"Soul. How is she?" Stitches asked, and Soul looked up at her with worried eyes.

"She's really cold." Soul said, worriedly. Stitches looked back at her father, who strode up alongside her and knelt down next to the redhead.

"Okay, we need to stop the mission." Stein said. Stitches' eyes widened.

"Papa, is she okay?" Stitches asked, shakily.

"I think she'll survive, but not here. We need to stabilise her and get back to Death City. You always follow the rule that if there are any wounded in preliminary attacks, you pull out. It's not worth it." Stein said. Stitches nodded and knelt down beside Mina, pressing her hand to the side of her face.

"Mina… Mina, can you hear me?" Stitches asked. Mina's eyes opened slightly and she shivered.

"Why's it so cold in here?" Mina asked. Stitches felt tears welling in her eyes and she looked up at Stein and Soul.

"Please, just get her out of here." Stitches said. Stein nodded and looked at Soul, motioning to his daughter. Soul walked over to Stitches and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"She's gonna be fine. We need to get her out of here in one piece though." Soul said. Stitches nodded and looked up at Stein.

"What do you want me to do?" Stitches asked. Stein and Soul knelt down at Mina's ribcage and directed Stitches down to her feet.

"Okay. When I say 'Go,' you two need to pick her up at the exact same time as me. Soul, you and I need to keep her level. We'll carry her a little lower so that Stitches can keep her at the same height." Stein said. They all looked down at Mina as she gave a weak laugh.

"It's funny… because she's short." Mina rasped. Stitches sighed and shook her head, grabbing Mina's ankles and looking up at the two men before her.

"Ready… Go!" Stein said, firmly, and he and the two weapons stood up, holding the redheaded meister level.

"Holy _crap_, that hurts!" Mina screamed. Stein stared down at Mina and shushed her.

"You've got to be quiet. I know it hurts, but you have to stop screaming. Because we don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves." Stein said. Mina squeezed her eyes shut as pained tears fell from them.

"Okay." she hissed through gritted teeth. Stitches winced at her best friend's pain, but pushed through. It was their first mission away, and it was being cut short.

But Mina needed help, and that came before all else.

**A/N: Ouch. Tough break there, guys.**

**Factoid #29: Before now, it's never been established even **_**if**_** Stein and Stitches could resonate. It's something I had planned to explore in the third story but never got around to it. So I put it in here.**


	9. Breaking The Run

**A/N: This chapter contains some strong language from Mina. **

**And I'm not one to blow my own horn, but in the beginning of this chapter, Stein is my actual favourite person ever.**

"The simple fact of the matter is, Mina West and Shelley Stein were _not_ experienced enough for this mission!" the woman, in her mid-forties, had greying black hair tied in a bun.

Her eyes pierced through Stein, Soul, Stitches and Mina. Mina was in a wheelchair, for it was still too painful for her to walk. Shinigami-sama was with them as well, and it appeared that the woman scared the death god too.

She was from Internal Affairs, and she had been called in to examine the reasons behind the mission's failure and shortening.

"Ms… Ma'am, I have to say that-" Shinigami-sama began, but this woman was brave enough to cut off the shinigami.

"Mina West's injury was completely her own doing. She-"

"Excuse me?" Stein asked.

"Her injury was due to her own inexperience-" The woman began again, but Stein interrupted her. _Again._

"That's just downright wrong. False. A lie." Stein began. Stitches, Soul, Mina and even Shinigami-sama were in shock, and the Internal Affairs woman looked appalled.

"I will not have you stand here and claim that two of the most talented students from this school, one a Deathscythe and the other a three-star-meister, were not experienced enough for this mission." Stein stepped forward, and Soul and Shinigami-sama stepped back, Stitches doing the same as well as wheeling Mina backwards.

"And, if I'm not mistaken, said Deathscythe is your daughter? Of course you wouldn't say that your own daughter was too inexperienced-"

"Don't think for a second that I would take that into account. It was not up to me that my daughter became a Deathscythe, nor did I have any hand in Mina becoming a three-star-meister. And, objectively speaking, I know very few meisters and weapons that would have been more capable of the job at their age." Stein snapped back.

"Nevertheless, these two girls were simply too inexperienced, Doctor Stein!" she exclaimed.

"Unless we had sent somebody with an iron ribcage, the golem would have crushed whoever it stepped on. We could have sent anybody, we could have sent Maka Albarn, the Demon God's defeater herself, for Death's sake. She still would have been injured, just like this young woman." Stein said, sternly. The Internal Affairs woman crossed her arms and glared at the scientist.

"And how do you explain the choice to send both yourself and Shelley Stein when both of you are particularly vulnerable to madness? Why did you not send somebody like Thomas Cameron, who is immune to madness?" she asked.

"The madness was created by the resonance performed by Stitches and I. This allowed us to defeat the golem, which we otherwise would have had a very hard time doing. There was no madness there, and though Thomas Cameron is an immensely skilled meister, there was no reason to believe we would need his immunity." Stein replied. Mina resisted the urge to yell '_Burn!_' and Stitches tried not to smile at the fact that her father had just complimented her boyfriend's abilities.

"There will _still_ be an investigation." the woman snapped.

"Please, be my guest." Stein replied.

"Into _you _if I have anything to with it." she continued.

"Please. I'm sure I'm already on file in your petty little department. Search for _sadistic_ and _volatile_, I'll be there." Stein flashed a sadistic smirk and the woman's eyes widened.

"Suddenly isn't such a great idea, is it?" Stein remarked, and the woman composed herself, huffed and walked out of the Death Room. Stein turned and watched her leave before shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Way to go, Doc!" Mina chuckled.

"Papa, you didn't have to do that." Stitches said. Stein sighed and crossed his arms.

"Really? You're eighteen years old and I still embarrass you?" Stein asked. Stitches shook her head.

"No, no… Thank you. She'd have eaten us alive, Papa." Stitches said.

"And that rant's as complimentary as it gets, isn't that right, Stein?" Soul asked. Stein sighed and walked past the white-haired scythe.

"I give credit where credit's due. Hence your lack of credit." Stein walked out of the Death Room, and it took Soul a minute to register.

"Hey!" Soul called, but Stein was out of earshot. Stitches and Mina sighed and began to walk out of the room.

"Well… we'd best tell everyone we're home." Stitches said.

"Yeah." Mina agreed.

"Oh, Mama's going to hug me to death." Stitches thought to herself.

* * *

"_Oh,_ I'm so glad you're _safe_, I missed you two _so much!_" Marie cried, sweeping up both Stein and Stitches into a bone-crushing hug.

"We missed you too, Mama." Stitches said, squeezing her mother back and feeling tears well up in her eyes. She sniffled and gave a tiny laugh before stepping back and giving a smile.

"I know it's probably not exactly how you wanted your first mission to go… but you all survived." Marie said, pressing her hand to the side of Stitches' face. Stitches nodded before walking past her mother to Azusa.

"So, defeating a golem on your first mission. Not bad at all, my dear." Azusa smiled. Stitches gave a small laugh and lurched forward to hug her Aunt Yumi.

"Thank you for looking after Mama." Stitches said. Azusa nodded and hugged Stitches back.

"Well, I tried." Azusa said. Stitches and Azusa turned around to see Marie kissing Stein, her arms wrapped firmly around his waist as his were on her hips.

"Ugh, they're just disgusting." Azusa looked down at Stitches and laughed.

"I guess frequent near-death experiences keep two people together." Stitches smiled and stuck her hands in her pockets.

"Never worked for me." Azusa crossed her arms.

"Oh, you're not a bitter woman at all, are you?" Stitches asked.

"I don't know if I like your insinuations, Shelley." Azusa smirked at Stitches before walking over to Marie.

"You can take your belongings back whenever it's convenient for you." Azusa asked. Marie nodded and hugged Azusa tightly, taking the raven-haired woman aback somewhat.

"Thank you for letting me stay here." Marie smiled. Azusa sighed and nodded.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're always welcome." she gave a small smile before stepping back.

"Okay," Marie looked over at Stein before looking at Stitches, "I suppose you'll want to be seeing that boyfriend of yours."

Stitches bit her lip and nodded insistently, a smile growing on her face. Stein crossed his arms and huffed. Stitches rolled her eyes and glared at her father.

"You just made out with Mama in front of me," Stitches remarked, "you owe me."

* * *

Thomas stood to his feet and walked over to the door as the doorbell rang.

"_Did Joseph forget his keys again?"_ Thomas thought to himself. When he opened the door, he realised that it wasn't Joseph.

"Hey there." the voice said, trying desperately not to crack with tears. Thomas looked down and saw the familiar golden eyes of his girlfriend.

"_Stitches_." Thomas whispered, sweeping the young woman up in his arms and lifting her off the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut with a wide grin on his face as Stitches began to cry.

"Oh, Death, I can't believe you're back." Thomas looked Stitches in the eyes, and she wiped the tears from them.

"Oh, I'm an idiot." Stitches laughed. Thomas shook his head and took Stitches' face in his hands, kissing her forcefully and passionately.

"I missed you so much." Thomas mumbled against Stitches' neck. She giggled and nodded.

"I missed you too." Stitches said. She walked into the apartment and took a deep breath in, sitting down on the couch.

"So, why are you back so early?" Thomas asked, pulling Stitches' legs onto his lap and resting his hands on her knees. Stitches sighed and dropped her shoulders.

"Mina got injured. It wasn't too bad, in retrospect, but it was in the preliminary stages of the mission. We didn't want to risk it." Stitches said. Thomas nodded.

"Who made the decision to come home?" Thomas asked.

"Papa did." Stitches said. Thomas' eyes widened imperceptibly and he raised his eyebrows.

"I love your father." Thomas said. Stitches raised an eyebrow and looked up at Thomas.

"Okay, that came out wrong. I'm grateful that he made you come home early." Thomas reiterated.

"I should tell him that you said you loved him." Stitches giggled.

"Do you want to see me dissected?" Thomas asked. Stitches shook her head.

"No, no, he won't dissect you." Stitches reassured the man. Thomas sighed.

"Really?" he asked. Stitches nodded.

"He'll _vivisect_ you for sure, yes. But that means you should be alive at the end." Stitches laughed.

"Yeah, with my face rearranged." Thomas grumbled. Stitches giggled and rested against Thomas' side, pulling her legs back underneath her.

"Oh, come on. You should have seen me over there. Papa and I resonated and I went a little insane." Stitches stated.

"Is it bad that I find it really attractive when you're a tad crazy?" Thomas asked.

"Uh… yes. Morally, yes. But, when I'm crazy, I don't do morals. So it's all good." Stitches laughed and Thomas shook his head, smiling.

"We shouldn't make light of mad-" Thomas stopped when Stitches' phone began to ring.

"Oh, sorry, it's Mina. I should take this." Stitches said. Thomas nodded.

"Go for it." Thomas said. Stitches answered the phone to sobbing.

"Mina? Mina, what is it?" Stitches took to her feet, a shocked look on her face.

"_I hate him!_"

"What? Who?" Stitches asked.

"_Joseph kissed another girl while we were on the fucking mission! I can't believe that bastard!_"

"Mina, you've got to calm down-"

"_Why should I?! He and I are over." _

"What?! Mina, don't you think that's a little-"

"_No! It's not! If Thomas had kissed another girl while you were gone, you'd smash him into next week!_"

"Mina, I…" Stitches stopped the hostility when Mina broke down into sobs once more.

"Mina, hold tight. I'm going to send Thomas, is that okay?" Stitches asked, getting a tiny _yes_ in response. She said a few more calm words before hanging up the phone and looking down at Thomas.

"Mina broke up with Joseph. Apparently he kissed another girl." Stitches said. Thomas gasped and smacked himself in the head with his palm.

"He kept going out to places like Chupa Cabra's and getting drunk. I told him he'd do something stupid." Thomas sighed.

"I have to go over to visit Kid and Maka and meet Aurora. Can you…" Stitches trailed off, and Thomas simply nodded.

"I'll go and see Mina. I'll see if I can call Joseph." Thomas said, and Stitches nodded.

"I'll make my visit quick." she said, and Thomas shook his head.

"Don't rush. I can handle it – for a while, anyway." Thomas replied, and Stitches nodded and sighed, rubbing at her neck. That simple motion sparked Thomas' memory.

"Oh! Here!" Thomas pulled a small, silver chain out of his pocket. He smiled at Stitches and she calmed slightly.

"Told you you'd give it back to me." she took the necklace and put it back on, giving a tiny smile.

"It'll be okay. You go and meet Aurora." Thomas said, and Stitches furrowed her eyebrows.

"Trust me. I'll be fine, we'll be fine, and Aurora's really cute and you need to meet her." Thomas gave a tiny smirk and Stitches rolled her eyes.

"Fine." she murmured.

"Go on." Thomas urged, and Stitches left the apartment, the blonde leaving and locking up behind her.

* * *

"She's adorable."

"Isn't she?" Kid asked, a tiny air of a smile about his face. He looked at his wife, who gently stood over the hammer holding the baby, and Stitches watched as Aurora wrapped a tiny fist around her finger.

"She's been dying to meet you." Maka said, and Stitches looked up.

"Isn't she a bit young to be dying to meet anyone?" Stitches asked, and Maka shrugged.

"I think she likes you. I think you're a good babysitting candidate." Kid remarked, and Maka nodded. Stitches frowned.

"You only had her a little while ago. Surely you aren't sick of her already." Stitches gave a tiny smirk, and Maka shook her head.

"That's not it at all," she leant down to gently brush her fingers against Aurora's cheek, leaning down near Stitches' ear at the same time, "_but do you know how difficult it is to have sex with an eight year old and an infant in the house?_"

"Thanks for sharing, Maka. Glad I've got that bit of knowledge." Stitches drawled, sarcastically, and Maka sighed and gave a small laugh.

"You love your children more that you love life itself, but you miss sex." Maka remarked, and Stitches sighed and clicked her tongue.

"I'm sorry your mother is talking like this in front of you, sweetheart. I'll look after you." she remarked, and Maka smiled.

"You wait until you have children, Stitches." Kid remarked, and Stitches glanced at the shinigami.

"Could you imagine that? Could you imagine Papa?" Stitches asked.

"He'd take it in his stride." Kid remarked.

"He would not! He'd kill my boyfriend." Stitches retorted. Kid clicked his tongue and shrugged, giving a small nod.

"Yeah, that might be it too." he replied, and Stitches shook her head and glanced down at the baby in her arms.

_It must be lovely to be a baby, Aurora. Nothing to worry about – no missions, no leaving the country, no leaving everyone you love – and certainly no worrying about your best friends breaking up._

**A/N: Damn.**

**Factoid #30: If we go back to the first part in this chapter, we can see that Stein's really rather protective of Mina. This stemmed (at first) from Mina being Stitches' only friend, but extends to the fact that she's Stitches' meister and he knows that his daughter's life is, literally, in her hands at any given time.**


	10. Nothing Ever Happens

**A/N: Ugh Protective!Thomas is my favourite just sayin'.**

"Who the hell is in there with her?" Thomas asked Stitches, who was currently making herself some tea.

"I don't even know. I… I can't believe it. She and Joseph have been broken up for a month, not to mention her ribs haven't even fully healed, and she's already sleeping with someone else." Stitches sighed. Thomas walked over behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping his chin to her shoulder.

"Look, odds are it's just that. I'm going to sound stupid and soppy but… Mina and Joseph, they belong together. They really do." Thomas said. Stitches expression softened and she clicked her tongue.

"I know what you mean." Stitches said. Just then, a tall brunette walked out of Mina's room, completely stark naked with only his hands covering his lower half.

"What?! Death!" Thomas stepped back from Stitches, hands flying up to cover his eyes.

"Are you serious?! I don't even know your name and you're walking around naked in my house?" Stitches said.

"My name is-"

"Uh, uh, uh! My rule is I don't let _anyone_ tell me their name without pants on." Stitches said. The man shuffled out of the room, back into Mina's bedroom. Thomas took one hand away from his face and glanced sideways at Stitches, whispering to her with a smirk on his face.

"_I've told you my name without any_-"

"Don't even." she hissed, trying to hide her smirk. Mina then walked out of her room, a baggy black t-shirt her only covering, and Stitches' smirk dissipated.

"Who the hell was that?" Stitches asked. Mina sighed and scratched the back of her head.

"That's Keiko." Mina said.

"… I reiterate, who the hell is that?" Stitches asked.

"Look, I went out, I met this guy, and it was… it was a one night thing, okay?" Mina asked. Thomas looked over at Mina and sighed.

"Joseph is falling apart without you." Thomas said.

"He kissed another girl. He _cheated_ on me, Thomas." Mina said.

"He kissed a girl while he was drunk, and he was out getting drunk because he missed you like crazy!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Don't give me that." Mina crossed her arms.

"He loves you. He loves you more than that guy in your bedroom will ever love you. He needs you, Mina." Thomas stood up. Stitches stood back, torn between her best friend and her boyfriend.

"Stitches…" Mina looked at Stitches, as did Thomas.

"I… Uh…" Stitches looked down.

"Tell me straight, Stitches." Mina said. Stitches looked at Mina and sighed.

"He shouldn't have cheated. That's a no-brainer." Stitches began. Mina shot a glare at Thomas.

"See?" She remarked.

"_However_, from the sounds of it, he really regrets it. You guys have been together for a long time. I don't think you should throw it all away because of a drunken kiss." Stitches said. Mina crossed her arms and pouted.

"Whatever. I just… I'm going to steer clear of it for a while. Whatever happens, happens. I… I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just…" Mina looked up and held back tears.

"Hey, what's going on?" Keiko walked out of the bedroom, slowly pulling his t-shirt on.

"Mina is considering going back to the man that she broke up with just a few weeks ago. They'd been going out since the start of high school and you just came in and had sex with her, and I imagine you're going to leave with no intentions of seeing her again, so why don't you just get on with it?" Thomas asked. Keiko raised an eyebrow and looked at Mina.

"Who's this? Didn't tell me you had a sassy gay friend around the house." he remarked. Thomas walked over to Keiko and glared down at him.

"I'm straight, for your information, not that it'd matter what I was. I'm still going to make you regret being in this apartment if you don't leave _right now._" Thomas snarled.

"What's your problem?" he asked, and Thomas crossed his arms.

"My problem is _you._" Thomas clenched his fists against his arms and Keiko's eyes widened.

"I'll call you." he said, quickly, before leaving.

"Yeah, don't bother." Mina said after Keiko walked out.

"And you're never going to see him again." Stitches said.

"… You could have just told him to piss off." Mina said to Thomas. Thomas shrugged.

"You're my friend, and I don't do things half-assed for friends." Thomas said. Mina gave a small smile and hugged the blonde meister.

"Thanks, Thomas." Mina said.

"Yeah, well. I'm didn't just do that for you." Thomas said. Mina crossed her arms.

"If you're planning on giving me the moral what-for, don't bother." Mina said. Thomas shook his head and sighed.

"It's up to you who you date. I'm just worried about my weapon. I don't know if he can live without you. The six months you were gone were hell for him." Thomas said.

"It isn't that simple." she murmured, and Thomas nodded.

"I know it isn't. But I'm still going to be on the lookout for you two." Thomas said, and Mina sighed and turned around, walking out of the room.

"I'm taking a shower." Mina said. Thomas sighed and looked over at Stitches.

"You've done all you can. Only time will tell." Stitches said. Thomas nodded and sighed.

"I won't cheat on you, drunk or otherwise." Thomas said.

"Why not? Because I'm so stunningly gorgeous that your mind doesn't even comprehend cheating on me?" Stitches asked.

"Well, yes, of course there's that… there's also the fact that your father threatened to castrate me if I ever cheated on you." Thomas remarked, worriedly. Stitches shook her head and chuckled.

"Yeah," Stitches smirked, "that might be it too."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us you had this?" Mina exclaimed, grabbing the old Shibusen yearbook out of Stitches' hands and giggling.

It was not their yearbook, nor was it the yearbook of Maka, Soul and the likes.

It was the yearbook of Stein, Marie and everyone else's senior years.

"Is that Mama Mjolnir?" Mina asked with a laugh, pointing to a blonde with hair with incredible volume. She had her arm around a raven-haired girl and a wide smile on her face.

"That's Mama with Aunt Yumi." Stitches smiled, sitting between Thomas and Mina on the couch, finally making it to the page with all of the seniors on it.

"What are their quotes?" Thomas asked. They looked through all of them until they came to Marie's quote.

"I hope to find my direction in life better than I found it around Shibusen." Stitches laughed, along with Thomas and Mina. They all knew about Marie's shocking sense of direction.

"They all look so _little_." Mina said.

"Well, that's because they were." Stitches piped up. The three of them continued looking through the yearbook before the phone rang.

"I've got it." Mina jumped to her feet and ran out of the room. Stitches snuggled up closer to Thomas and sighed.

"Your parents were dating by this point, weren't they?" Thomas asked. Stitches nodded and smiled.

"They've been together for most of their lives." Stitches smiled.

"That's comforting." Thomas said, resting his hand on Stitches' hip.

"Oh, yeah?" Stitches asked. Thomas nodded.

"I don' t know, I guess… With all of the people that were in our class, they've had a whole lot of partners, and I don't know anyone who's still with the same person they were with at Shibusen." Thomas said, sadly. Stitches smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thomas, you're stuck with me now." Stitches said. Thomas looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" Thomas asked.

"Well, I'm not going through nearly five years of integration with another man and my father. I'm not letting you go anywhere." Stitches laughed.

"I'm glad. Because there are things you know that I can't bear explaining to anyone else." Thomas said.

"Well, I'm not planning on going anywhere." Stitches said. Thomas grinned and nodded.

"I'm sure. And I'm certain that Mina and Joseph will get back together." Thomas said.

"And our children will get married. And I will ship them vehemently." Stitches smirked. Thomas sighed and shook his head.

"Well, we'll have to find out what our mothers have named our kids." Thomas said. Stitches giggled and nodded.

"We will indeed." Stitches said. She then looked up and saw Mina walking back into the living room.

"Who was that?" Stitches asked Mina cheerfully. Mina's face was blank.

"Mina, what is it?" Thomas asked. Mina began to tremble.

"Is it your dad, Mina?" Stitches asked, walking over to Mina and wrapping her arm around her shoulders. Mina shook her head.

"Mina… what's happened?" Stitches asked. Mina turned to Stitches, still shaking.

"That… That was Marie. The Doc, he… he collapsed. They're at the hospital now." Mina managed. Stitches felt a pang in her chest.

"Wh… What?" Stitches asked, now shaking as well.

Mina had to catch Stitches as she went weak. Thomas leapt to his feet and pulled his car keys out of his pocket. He held up Stitches and threw the keys to Mina.

"You drive." Thomas said, helping Stitches regain her stability, tears now welling in her eyes.

"I… I don't… Is he going to be okay?" Stitches asked, looking to either her meister or her boyfriend for an answer.

"_Someone tell me! Tell me he's going to be okay!_" Stitches screamed.

Mina turned to Stitches, and she knew how she felt. When her mother had died, nobody gave her answers.

"He will be fine, Stitches." Mina nodded. Stitches' eyes were wide and vulnerable. She rarely showed vulnerability; she was much like Stein in that respect.

"I just… I'm sorry." Stitches sighed. Mina shook her head and looked gently down at her weapon.

"Don't be, sweetie. It's your dad, and you need to be there for him. For him and Mama Mjolnir, okay?" Mina asked. Stitches nodded.

"It's going to be okay, you hear me?" Thomas asked, grasping Stitches' hand. She gave a tiny whimper and looked up at Thomas.

"_It's Papa. Nothing ever happens to Papa_." she whispered, and Thomas couldn't hide the fact that his breath hitched in his throat and no answers would come.

"Nothing's gonna happen to the Doc. He's gonna be fine." Mina said, grasping Stitches' shoulder, and Stitches exhaled shakily, nodding in a less-than-convincing manner. Mina looked at Thomas and he too looked stricken.

"Are you alright?" she asked, and Thomas nodded insistently.

"Yeah." he managed, tightening his grip on Stitches' hand. Mina nodded and they headed out of the apartment.

Truth be told, none of them were alright. The fact that something had happened to Stein had made the fact that it could well happen to them very real. But, beyond that, it reminded them that Stein, like everyone, was human.

It reminded them that they could lose him – and none of them were prepared for that.

**A/N: Yikes.**

**Factoid #31: The way Stitches reacts to hearing of Stein's collapse alludes to the way she reacted when she was bullied in story two and told she was a mistake. In that story, Mina caught Stitches as she fainted as well.**


	11. The Damaged Doctor

**A/N: Okay, so I wasn't going to update so fast but you guys seemed worried. Here you go, lovelies.**

After finding out about Stein's collapse, Mina, Thomas and Stitches had visited Stein and Marie every day. This was the third day, and there was no word, positive or negative.

"Just stay here. Just for a second, I promise." Mina said, and Thomas grabbed Stitches' hand so she couldn't push past. Mina knocked gently on the slightly open door, and a small, teary voice replied.

"Wh-Who is it?" the voice Mina recognised as Marie asked.

"It's me, Mina. Stitches and Thomas are here too." Mina said. Marie sniffed, and the ever-familiar sound of her tapping her cheeks twice rang out. She was trying desperately to put up a strong guise, but this was the man she'd spent most of her life with. It wasn't that simple.

"Come in, of course." she said, notably quietly. Before they could go in, Mina felt a presence behind her and she turned around, a scowl on her face.

"What are you doing here?" Mina asked as she turned around to see Joseph.

"I heard… you know, about the…" Joseph trailed off. Mina grit her teeth and sighed.

"You can come in, but you make a sound and you're dead." Mina said as she pushed the door open to see her best friend's mother, her former teacher, looking more upset and defeated than Mina had ever seen.

She then looked slightly to her left and saw the man who was probably the most powerful she'd ever known; her mentor. And he was just laying there, completely vulnerable, connected to machines and monitors. Sure, she'd seen him injured before, she'd even caused it on the _very_ odd occasion. But, this… after three days, he was still incapacitated.

"_Shit._" Mina muttered under her breath, shocked that he still wasn't better. She walked swiftly over to Marie and put her arm around the blonde, who simply closed her eyes and tried not to cry anymore.

Stitches and Thomas walked in next, Thomas slightly ahead of Stitches. When he saw Stein, he tightened his grip on Stitches' hand and prepared for it.

And then Stitches saw it.

Her father, her steadfast, the man who had been simply unbreakable all of her life seemed broken.

He was still like this after three days. Stitches thought he would just bounce back like nothing had happened, but he hadn't changed. Stitches shook and leant heavily against Thomas, tears welling in her eyes once more.

"_No. Wh… Papa." _Stitches began to shake and Thomas helped her over to a seat next to Marie.

"Stitches, sweetie…" Marie pressed her hand to the side of her daughter's face. Stitches rested her hand on top of her mother's, taking a sharp breath in.

"Wh-What's happened?" Stitches asked. Marie dropped her hand from Stitches' face, but did not let go of Stein's hand.

"The… They're getting worried about him, Stitches." Marie broke down once more, Stitches wrapping her arms around her mother and hugging her tightly.

"Oh, Death." Thomas covered his mouth with his hand at the scene.

"Stitches, Marie, do you want to go for a walk? We'll stay here and look after the Doc, I swear." Mina said to the women. Both of them reluctantly nodded and stood up shakily, walking out of the room and trying to quash their sobbing.

"You. I want to talk to _you_._" _Mina grabbed Joseph's wrist and dragged him out of the room.

"No, wait, what?!" Thomas asked. However, his cries fell on deaf ears and he flopped down onto the chair next to Stein. Death only knows what compelled him to do so, but he began to speak to the unconscious doctor.

"Stein… Doctor… Sir? I don't know. Can you just… I mean, with all due respect, stop this?" Thomas asked, half-expecting a response.

"They're falling apart without you, Doctor. Ms Mjolnir and Stitches, they're just… _I mean_, not that they aren't strong, independent women, because they are, and they can take care of themselves, but… I should shut up now." Thomas muttered.

"Just, if you could quit this unconscious thing? That'd be great. Because I don't know how much longer I can watch two strong grown women cry in front of me. So… yeah." Thomas said, clasping his hands and dropping his head.

He sat for a good ten minutes with nobody coming back into the room before he saw it.

The doctor in the hospital bed stirred slightly, causing Thomas to very nearly jump out of his skin.

"Doctor?" Thomas asked, trying to get a response. Stein mumbled something undecipherable And Thomas sat forward.

"Doctor, it's me, Thomas." Thomas stood up over Stein. His stress was calmed, oddly, when Stein groaned at the sentence.

"Oh, okay, you're fine." Thomas said, running out into the corridor.

"Where are you going? Wh… Where am I?" Stein asked, his voice gravelly and quiet.

"I'm going to get Ms Mjolnir and your daughter." Thomas said. Stein tried to sit himself up, but found that he was too weary or drugged to do so. Thomas looked down the hallway and, luckily, saw that Marie and Stitches walking back up to Stein's room.

"Ms Mjolnir! Stitches! Quickly! He's awake." Thomas called, and they both sped up to get back into the room.

"Franken." Marie whispered, striding over to grab Stein's hand, her head dropping to his chest as she began to sob once more.

"Marie, I… What happened?" Stein asked.

"You collapsed a… and I thought you were going to _die_." Marie's eyes filled with tears, her voice falling to a whisper. Stein's eyes widened and he tightened his grip on Marie's hand.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm so sorry." Stein's emotions made a rare appearance as he apologised profusely to his partner.

"Don't be stupid, Franken, it's not your fault." Marie replied, shaking her head and giving a small, relieved smile. Stein gently shifted himself to the side, freeing one hand to press the bed remote and allowing him to sit up slightly. Stitches stepped forward, her hand resting on Stein's knee.

"You… Papa." Stitches lurched forward, wrapping her arms around her father.

"Stitches." Stein replied, resting his hand that wasn't attached to a drip on Stitches' back.

"You shouldn't scare Mama like that. Or me." Stitches said. Stein sighed and rested his head back.

"I'll make a note of that." Stein chuckled. Stitches rolled her eyes and kissed Stein on the forehead.

"Mama, come and help me find the doctor." Stitches said. Marie nodded and stood up, kissing Stein quickly on the lips before leaving. Stein looked over at the blonde sitting awkwardly in the corner.

"Just because someone is strong and independent doesn't mean that they aren't affected by a loved one's suffering." Stein muttered. Thomas bolted up and his eyes widened.

"Y-You heard all that stuff I s-said?" Thomas asked. Stein nodded.

"I live with a strong, independent woman and raised another. And Stitches is probably more strong and independent than her mother – she's had to be. So you'd better watch yourself. Because she might seem strong, but she falls hard." Stein said. Thomas nodded.

"O-Of course, Doctor Stein." Thomas said.

"Good." Stein rested back and sighed. Stitches and Marie walked back in with a tall, dark-haired doctor.

"Okay, Doctor Stein, good to see you're awake." the doctor said. Stein nodded and Marie sat back at his side once more, taking his hand in her own.

"I've got some possibly upsetting news, however." the doctor said solemnly. Naturally, everyone presumed the worst.

"No, no, it's nothing serious… Sorry, I haven't quite gotten the knack of breaking news to people." the young man said.

"No kidding." Stein remarked. Marie clasped her hand over Stein's mouth.

"Sorry about the old, bitter doctor over here." Marie said. The young doctor gave a nervous smile before regaining clinical composure.

"Doctor Stein, your collapse was simply one of those medical anomalies that are inexplicable. The scans we took whilst you were still unconscious showed no tumours or abnormalities in the brain. Though, admittedly, the scans we took were restricted. The irremovable hunk of metal in your skull sort of limited what we could do." the doctor said.

"Well, yes. Anyway…" Stein urged the doctor to spit out what he wanted to say, also glancing quickly at Mina, who had walked back into the room.

"Yes! Uh, well, what we do know is that it was stress related." the doctor said. Marie turned to Stein and shot him a discerning look.

"I could tell _that_ was coming." Stein muttered before looking back at the doctor.

"And, unfortunately, we're fairly sure any extra strain, either physical or emotional, will exacerbate your condition." the doctor said.

"So…" Stein trailed off.

"Well, we're aware of your responsibilities at the DWMA. And, although your teaching should not be affected… I'm afraid that any special missions will be out of the question." he said, solemnly.

It soon sunk in for everyone in the room that they had just witnessed the retirement of the strongest meister ever to graduate from the DWMA.

They were the only people to ever see that.

"I see." Stein said, solemnly. The young doctor sensed the situation shift and nodded, walking out of the room.

"Papa… are you okay?" Stitches asked. Stein turned to Stitches, his eyes filled with something unfamiliar.

It wasn't sadness, no. It was almost… defeat.

"I'll be fine," Stein replied, "It's not like I could fight forever."

"I'm sorry, Doc." Mina piped up. Stein looked over at the young, redheaded meister and nodded.

"Thanks." he said. Marie looked at Stein, her eyes clouded with tears.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Marie asked, in barely a whisper. He looked at her solemnly before looking at the rest of the group.

"I'm fine, really," Stein began before looking up at the people in the room, "but if you don't mind, I'd like to spend some time alone with Marie." Stein said. All of the others in the room nodded.

"We'd best be getting home, anyway." Stitches said as she walked over to Stein, hugging him tightly.

"I'm glad you're awake, Papa." Stitches whispered, kissing Stein on the cheek before walking out of the room with her other friends.

"You alright, Stitches?" Thomas asked. Stitches nodded and turned around, looking at Mina.

"Where'd Joseph go?" she asked. Mina scoffed.

"I don't want to talk about him right now. He's trying to blame everything on me. But that's beside the point – the Doc's awake!" Mina smiled. Stitches smiled and nodded.

"I got so worried." Stitches admitted. Thomas held her tighter and glanced down.

"It's okay now." he murmured. She smiled and nodded, happy that, apart from the whole Mina and Joseph situation, things were beginning to return back to normal.

Stitches' thoughts were proved wrong barely a month later, however, when a bombshell was dropped.

It shocked absolutely _everyone._

**A/N: The cliffhanger monsters have been at it again :D**

**No factoid this chapter – next chapter's going to be a factoid about the big reveal.  
**


	12. A Shock Bombshell

**A/N: Okay, okay, here it is. Um... surprise?**

She couldn't believe it.

"You're… engaged?" Stitches asked. The two nodded.

Stitches could no longer suppress a smile and ran over to her parents, hugging them both tightly.

"What? Why? I mean, it's … it's amazing, but… why now? Why not... y'know, twenty years ago?" Stitches asked. Marie looked at Stein and he looked back at her, giving a small nod.

"We made a pact to one another, a long time ago. You were probably a toddler." Marie said. Stitches raised an eyebrow and Stein continued to explain.

"Your mother was always quite… shall we say, _taken,_ with the idea of marriage." Stein said, and Marie gave a tiny smile, creases forming in the corners of her eyes.

"When we found out we were having you, it was simple. You were our first priority, nothing else." Stein said. Stitches sighed and her arms dropped to her sides.

"Now I feel bad." Stitches said. Marie shook her head.

"Don't feel bad, honey." Marie said. Stitches gave a smile and let her parents continue.

"We made a promise to each other. When both of us stopped going on missions, we'd get married." Marie said.

"But… why would you wait until then?" Stitches asked.

"You remember how we told you about Kami, right?" Marie asked. Stitches nodded in realisation.

"Well, your father and I were fairly shaken by that. For one, we never wanted to get married and then get divorced because we just couldn't stand living with one another anymore." Marie began. Stitches nodded in agreement.

"But, we also didn't want the '_til death do us part _vow to apply too early. Not after the deal with Medusa, and especially not after you came along." Marie said. Stitches sighed and gave a tiny smile.

"I think I'd find this more romantic if you weren't my parents and I had a genetic predisposition to be repelled by your affections." Stitches said.

"And now you know how _I _feel with you and Thomas." Stein said. Stitches shook her head, smiled and gave a little giggle.

"No, really. I am… Words can't explain how happy I am for you guys." Stitches said, walking over to hug both of them once more before sitting down next to them.

"So, Mama," Stitches smiled, "You're finally going to know what it's like to be a Stein."

"Now you're going to have three of us turning around when someone calls 'Stein.'" Marie smiled. Stitches laughed and crossed her arms.

"Ah, Papa's still pouty because people call me 'Stein' now, aren't you?" Stitches asked.

"We had the chance to give you your mother's last name. I really should have manned up and said it then." Stein said. Stitches laughed and shrugged.

"Yeah, a bit late for that one, Papa." she smiled. Marie gave a smile herself and stood up, walking out of the room. Stitches' expression turned more serious.

"Papa… you said you never saw marriage as something you and Mama would do. You said you don't understand the point." Stitches said.

"I don't." he said. Stitches raised an eyebrow.

"Then why are you…" Stitches trailed off. Stein sighed.

"Over the years, having come from not understanding love to being with a woman for twenty years, you learn give and take." Stein began.

"And, no, I never saw the point in marriage. But, it's always been very important to your mother, no matter what she says. And give and take is an important thing. And your mother has given me so much over the years." Stein said. Stitches gave a small smile.

"Okay, Papa," Stitches said, "as long as you're sure.

"I am, Stitches. I'm fairly sure common law's already got us married, anyway." Stein crossed his arms. Stitches smiled and nodded.

"Probably. I just… I'm so happy for you. Really." Stitches leant forward and hugged her father tightly.

* * *

"Holy crap, mad props to the Doc!" Mina exclaimed. Stitches smiled and clasped her hands together.

"I can't believe it. I really can't." Stitches said. Thomas sat up next to Stitches and smiled at her happiness.

"So much for normalcy, hey?" Thomas asked. Stitches shrugged and Mina jumped to her feet.

"Oh, I dibs helping with the dresses and everything for Mama Mjolnir." Mina began, before her face dropped.

"Mina, what's wrong?" Thomas

"No!" she exclaimed.

"Mina, what's wrong?" Stitches asked, worriedly.

"I'm not going to be able to call Mama Mjolnir_ Mama Mjolnir_ anymore! Can't she have a double-barrelled name?" Mina asked.

"I'm afraid we covered that, and my mother has a strong hatred for double-barrelled names." Stitches said. Mina dropped to her seat and sighed in defeat.

"I can't call her _Mama Stein_, because that sounds like a creepy prison nickname." Mina huffed. Stitches shuddered and made a retching noise.

"Mina, you stay the _hell_ away from my last name." Stitches crossed her arms. Mina sighed as Stitches stood up, stretching her arms above her head.

"Now, clean up a bit. The parents will be over any minute now." Stitches straightened the cushions on the couch and the others begrudgingly stood up to help.

"So, they're really engaged, hey?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah, I… I can't believe it." Stitches smiled. Thomas gave Stitches a look.

"Okay, I can't believe _Papa_ did it." Stitches said. Thomas smiled.

"I don't know, yes, your father does still scare me a little, but… I think it's sweet." Thomas said.

"I'm so glad you're my girlfriend." Stitches said. It took a couple of seconds, but Thomas registered what Stitches had said.

"Hey!" Thomas exclaimed.

"You're so over-emotional." Stitches said. Thomas sighed and put away something in a cupboard.

"You really are a Stein, aren't you?" Thomas asked. Stitches turned around and giggled.

"Yes," Stitches said, "I'm a slightly insane person who might marry you in twenty years… maybe." Thomas sighed and looked over at Stitches.

"Well," he sighed, "I kinda hope it's a little sooner than that."

"Fine," Stitches smiled, sauntering over to Thomas and wrapping her arms around his waist, "Fifteen years." Thomas sighed and kissed Stitches, pulling away just as the doorbell rang.

"I've got it!" Mina jumped to her feet.

"Oh, Death, she's going to kill my parents." Stitches sat up on the kitchen counter and braced herself. Mina opened the door to see her former teachers; her best friend's parents, standing there. She garishly put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side.

"Young love. It's precious, I tell you." Mina said. Stein and Marie were slightly confused, but Mina turned the confusion to surprise when Mina hugged them both.

"Congrats, Doc, Mama Mjolnir-but-soon-to-not-be-Mjolnir." Mina smiled before letting the newly engaged couple in.

"Stitches, off the counter." Marie said. Stitches crossed her arms and pouted.

"But it's _my apartment._" she whined playfully before sliding off the counter and walking over to her parents, sitting down next to them.

Mina sat down across from Stein, Marie and Stitches, crossing her legs and clasping her hands.

"You know we have a problem in this town with kids getting married far too young." Mina said. Marie gave a small smile and a giggle.

"Thank you, Mina." she smiled.

* * *

"You okay?" Thomas asked Stitches in the dim bedroom lighting.

"Yeah. Just thinking about the months of planning we're going to have ahead of us." Stitches replied, leaning solidly against Thomas' chest.

"Ah, well. We'll be able to deal with it… but that's not all, is it?" Thomas asked. Stitches looked up at him and sighed.

"Damn you and your ability to read me." Stitches said. Thomas smirked and rested his hand on Stitches' hip.

"So, what is it?" Thomas asked. Stitches sighed.

"I just… I look back on everything, what we learnt at Shibusen, and there are so many things that we learnt in textbooks that Mama and Papa were personally involved in." Stitches said.

"Yeah?" he asked. Stitches sighed.

"The witch Medusa. A Gorgon sister. Undoubtedly the most powerful." Stitches said. Thomas raised an eyebrow. He did not know how Medusa Gorgon had affected Stitches' family.

"We never learnt it in class." Stitches muttered.

"Never learnt what?" Thomas asked.

"Well, they don't tend to teach you about the time that your teacher went insane and followed Medusa Gorgon to the middle of nowhere. You learn even less about the fact that he came very close to betraying Shibusen to join her." Stitches said. Thomas' eyes widened and he gave a small gasp.

"Yeah. I… I want to learn more about her. But, I'm just worried that my parents aren't going to want me to." Stitches said.

"Well, it's understandable that they wouldn't want you to know about that traumatic period in their lives." Thomas said. Stitches sighed and closed her eyes.

"I know." Stitches muttered.

"But… they don't need to know. You're a Deathscythe, you can access virtually all of the books in Shibusen's library. And I'm sure that Spirit and Azusa would be able to help you." Thomas said.

"I just… I don't want to find out anything that I don't want to find out." Stitches said.

"I know," Thomas kissed her on the forehead, "but that's a risk you've got to be willing to take." Stitches sighed and nodded.

"I know… but there's that, and then there's Mina and Joseph… I haven't seen him smile for weeks, Thomas." Stitches sighed.

"He's going to be okay." Thomas said, quietly.

"I just… I know." she murmured.

"You know, but you're not going to stop worrying, are you?" Thomas asked.

"I'm sorry." Stitches sighed. Thomas shook his head and climbed on top of Stitches, causing her to giggle.

"What are you doing?" she asked, grabbing his wrists.

"Taking your mind off of things." Thomas smirked, his blonde hair falling over his eyes as he nipped her neck.

Very quickly, Stitches' mind was cleared of all but one thing; Thomas Cameron.

**A/N: Okay, I know that they're my OC's, and my own creations, but… I SHIP THEM SO.**

**Factoid #32: After the last story, with not a whole lot of Stein/Marie, they deserve some love. Especially because all of the Stitches fics are filed under Stein and Marie. After the mission, I wanted to go back to a less battle-oriented arc, and it's been a plan to have them marry for a while. It seemed too soon in story one, was replaced in story two with the Kid/Maka wedding, and in story three, it was really about the students. But I finally felt it was the right time to write it. I feel that Marie, though extremely happy with her family, would still have that desire to get married. **


	13. Finding the Facts

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my sanity. R.I.P.**

Stitches woke up the morning after her parents became engaged in her boyfriend's arms. She watched as his chest rose and fell with every breath he took, and the slight whistle of his breath made Stitches smile.

"You awake?" Stitches whispered. When all she got was a grumble, a yawn and Thomas turning over in bed, she sighed. Stitches kissed Thomas on the temple, causing him to give a tiny, contented moan.

"I'll see you for lunch at twelve thirty, Deathbucks, right?" Stitches asked, spraying on deodorant before pulling a t-shirt and jeans over the underwear she'd worn to bed. Thomas nodded and pulled the covers up over his shoulders.

"I'll lock up." Thomas muttered. Stitches raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" Stitches asked.

"Mina's back at work, remember?" Thomas mumbled. Stitches sighed and scratched the back of her head.

"I knew that." Stitches said, walking over to the closet next to Thomas' side of the bed. She leant down to pick up her shoes when she felt a hand brush across her hips and backside.

"Was that supposed to be an 'I love you'? If so, that was lazy." Stitches said. Thomas tugged the front of her t-shirt, spinning Stitches around. He then grabbed the front of her shirt, leaning her down to face him.

He pressed his lips firmly up against Stitches', one of his hands coming out from under the covers to thread his fingers through her hair. They pulled away, pressing their foreheads together.

"I love you. Better?" Thomas asked. Stitches giggled and kissed Thomas on the nose before walking out of the bedroom. She sighed when the first thing she saw was a bra hanging from the light in the living room.

"_Seriously? I can deal with her leaving her underwear on the floor but this? How did she even- What?" _Stitches walked over to the centre of the room and reached her hand up. She couldn't reach it. Even when she stood on her tiptoes, she was too short.

It was going to bother her if she left it there.

She gave an admittedly half-hearted jump, but did not reach it. The floorboards creaked when she landed; hers and Mina's apartment was better than the one that they had at the academy, but it wasn't great. She gave a couple more jumps before she heard a tiny chuckle from behind her. She turned around to glare at the half-naked blonde at her bedroom door.

"You going to stand there like an idiot or help me?" Stitches asked.

"I don't know, the view's pretty good over here." Thomas grinned. Stitches put her hands on her hips.

"Seriously? Help me." Stitches insisted.

"You should really jump more often." Thomas remarked. Stitches pouted at Thomas and crossed her arms.

"You're alone in a house with a Deathscythe who has a father who could probably make it look like an accident. _Help. Me_." Stitches ordered. Thomas gave a tiny laugh and walked over to Stitches, standing up against her and stretching upwards, grabbing the bra off of the light. When he looked down at his girlfriend, he caught her staring at his abs.

"Oh, okay. Uh, to quote a famous high-ranking official in Death City… _Seriously?_" Thomas looked down at Stitches. Stitches crossed her arms.

"Uh, well, I… You… Shut up." Stitches mumbled. Thomas wrapped his arms around Stitches' waist and smirked.

"I think," Thomas sucked in a breath, "when you've been dating for five years, it's quite okay to stare."

"I'm glad you think that way, but I've still gotta go." Stitches smirked. Thomas leant down and kissed Stitches before watching her walk out of the door.

"She's so short." Thomas chuckled before realising that eight in the morning was far too early for a self respecting young man to be awake. He shuffled back to Stitches' room and shut the door.

* * *

"What are you after, Miss Stein?" the librarian asked.

"I'm looking for any texts on," Stitches instinctually looked around for her parents before leaning in slightly closer, "the Gorgon sisters. Focusing on anything about Medusa Gorgon or black blood."

The librarian nodded, though slightly uneasily, and took Stitches' Deathscythe library card to the back of the library.

"What are you doing?" a voice called from behind Stitches, causing her to jump.

"Uncle Spirit! I'm just getting some books-" Stitches began.

"Yes, on Medusa Gorgon and black blood. You sure your parents are okay with that?" Spirit asked. The librarian came back with four books.

"Take care of these," the librarian said, "they're relatively new texts. And, if anyone asks, I didn't give _these_ to you." the librarian slid some files across the desk, and Stitches nodded.

"Thank you very much." she smiled before turning back to Spirit.

"With all due respect, I'm an adult now. And I'm taking my own line of inquiry." Stitches said. Spirit followed her over to a table in the library, away from the entrance where Stein or Marie may have entered.

"Look," Spirit began, "I'm fine with it. I'm even willing to help you. It's just… Medusa fucked with your dad something shocking. And Marie very nearly lost him." Spirit said, solemnly. Stitches blinked and dropped her head.

"I just… I feel like I know so little. And, despite all the harm and the pain that was caused, it's part of my family history now. And I want to get it out of the way before the wedding planning gets into full swing." Stitches looked up at Spirit. Spirit nodded and sighed.

"I understand. Look, I'm willing to help." Spirit said, taking two of the books from Stitches and beginning to flick through them. Stitches gave a small smile and pulled out the document from the file.

"You just need to be careful is all." Spirit remarked. Stitches glanced at him and sighed.

"I've got to look after you, kid. You're my goddaughter. I have to be good to you." Spirit told her. She smirked and rolled her eyes.

"That's right, you do." Stitches said, and Spirit rolled his eyes.

"Too bad that doesn't go both ways, does it?" he asked. Stitches clicked her tongue.

"I'm very good to you, Uncle Spirit." she smirked. Spirit sighed and watched as the silver-haired hammer began to read the document, and her expression dropped virtually instantaneously. His eyes stayed intently fixed on her until she looked up, frantically.

"Subject did not respond to usual stimuli relating to weapon. Neither pictures nor word prompts received a response. The treatment is working… Uncle Spirit?" Stitches blinked at Spirit, her eyes wide.

"They're Medusa's notes on your dad." Spirit said, his expression solemn.

"She… she brainwashed him. She…" Stitches was extremely frazzled.

"Medusa's aim was to rid Stein of all the ties he had to Death City so that he'd fight for her." Spirit mumbled.

Stitches' eyes widened and she opened the folder fully. Alongside all of the documents, there was an audio CD in a sleeve.

_Mission#5313 Post-Analysis – S. Albarn follow-up of F. Stein._

"Uncle Spirit… what's this?" Stitches asked. Spirit looked at the CD and swallowed dryly, shivers travelling up his spine.

"That," he coughed, "was the interview I had to conduct with Stein after the defeat of the Demon God. Marie was probably pregnant with you by this point, but nobody knew – not even her. Stein left Death City for a while when the madness overtook him. He had visions, madness-induced delusions." Spirit admitted.

"I… I had to sit there and listen to all of these horrible things. I mean, sure, there were some differences when we were weapon and meister, but he's still my friend. I'm not so sure that you want to listen to that." Spirit muttered, quietly.

"I… I think I have to." Stitches replied. She looked down at her watch and swore under her breath.

"Look, Uncle Spirit, I've got to go and catch up with Thomas. Thanks for the help, I'll talk soon, okay?" Stitches asked. Spirit nodded.

"No problem." he said.

"Say hi to Maka, Kid, Junior and Aurora for me, okay?" Stitches asked. Spirit nodded and smiled.

"Will do." he replied.

* * *

After Thomas had left his and Stitches' lunch date, Stitches made her way back home. Mina had left a note saying that she was staying at Shibusen that night because she had an early training session with some of the students the next morning.

Stitches walked into her room, grabbed her laptop and headphones before putting in the interview CD. She hit 'Play' and listened. The first voice was that of Spirit, and though he sounded noticeably younger, his voice was still recognisable.

"_Right, uh… yeah. This is Spirit Albarn, deathscythe. It is currently… eleven thirty two am, and this interview is officially underway with Doctor Franken Stein. That is your name, correct?"_

Stitches blinked and sat back as her father began to speak. She only vaguely remembered when his voice was like this; you could sense the generally clinical, pragmatic tone. Though, Stitches knew, at this point he would have been back with her mother, and she would have been conceived.

"_Yes._" Stein's voice replied.

"_Okay. Stein, I need you to state for the record what you can remember about the period of hallucination you had on-" _Spirit's voice was cut date and time had been blanked out, for it was no longer needed.

"_I don't remember much. I simply… I remember one thing clearly, though._" Stein coughed.

"_And what's that?_" Spirit asked.

"_I remember being on the roof of the laboratory. And… Marie was there._" Stein mumbled. Stitches' eyes widened.

"_Uh, for the record, is this Marie Mjolnir, former Deathscythe of Oceania?_"

"_Yes." _Stein replied.

"_Okay, and what happened with that?"_

"_I approached, her. I can't remember what she said, but as soon as I came too close… she jumped off of the building."_

Stitches felt tears welling up in her eyes as she gasped.

"_And Medusa was there. She… she said something about…"_ Stein's voice cracked and Stitches felt something wrench in her stomach.

"Oh, Death…" she whispered to herself.

Her father sounded so vulnerable. So vulnerable to everything around him, almost _terrified_. Terrified by a memory. But if there was any memory to be terrified by, it was that one.

"_Stein, it wasn't real. You understand that, right? Marie is alive and well." _Spirit said, firmly.

"_I… I know._" Stein mumbled. Stitches pulled out her earphones and shut her laptop, placing it to the side. She pulled out her mobile phone and texted Thomas.

_Could you come over? I just found some stuff out and I don't really want to be alone tonight._

After a couple of minutes, Stitches got a response.

_Of course. See you in ten x_

Stitches sighed and pulled her knees to her chest, trying to forget what she just heard. She tried very hard to remember that it was a long time ago, and that her mother was not dead. Her mother wasn't dead, and her parents had been together for twenty years, hell, they were finally getting married.

Now was a time for celebration, not for exploration into the dark past.

And she was going to be there for her parents, no matter what.

**A/N: I just want to say that we definitely will go back to this Medusa exploration, but not for a few chapters. It will make up part of the final arc, but we have another couple of arcs to do. First of all, Stein/Marie wedding :D Also, I'm thinking that I might write up a one-shot of Stein proposing to Marie - I mean, you waited just over 100 chapters for it, after all. I got a review about it and so I think I'll do it. See, ask and (generally) you'll receive, guys!**

**Factoid #33: This story is going to do quite a bit of filling in of things that we didn't find out in the first three stories or that happened before the beginning of the first story – such as the interview and information about Medusa we found out in this chapter.**


	14. A Gown, Perhaps?

**A/N: And so, in this chapter lies one of the reasons that this is the final story in the series. The characters are aging, and it's difficult to keep up with. So, just a note. At the moment, Marie is forty-four Stein is forty-five. They were twenty-six and twenty-seven respectively when Stitches was born. That's my typical age gap for Stein and Marie – I don't go much over a year or two. So, there's some reference.**

"Uh… Mama…?" Stitches asked.

"That is literally the ugliest thing I've ever seen." Mina piped up. Stitches sighed and glared at Mina.

"Don't!" Stitches exclaimed.

"No, she's right." Marie sighed and dropped her arms. Azusa walked up to Marie and wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

"We'll find something, Marie." Azusa said. Marie dropped her head and sighed.

"Face it; they just don't make dresses for women of my age." Marie muttered. Azusa raised her eyebrow and sighed.

"Marie, please, you aren't old." Azusa said.

"You're younger than me." Marie said, slight derision languishing in her tone. Azusa raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"It isn't my fault." she remarked.

"C'mon, Marie, you're _slammin' hot._ There's gonna be something." Mina remarked.

"Mina, that's my _mother."_ Stitches remarked.

"Exactly! It's a compliment!" Mina exclaimed, and Marie smiled.

"Mama, you'll find something." Stitches said. Marie sighed.

"It's not just that. It's just… I've been making decisions with your father for nearly twenty years, and with this, I'm not." Marie sighed.

"Oh, Death. Can you imagine the Doc trying to work this whole thing out? That'd be brilliant. In fact, if I get married, the Doc can be my maid of honour." Mina said.

"Mina, do you think when words come out of your mouth?" Stitches asked.

"Not really, no." Mina giggled and Stitches sighed, dropping her head into her hands before standing up.

"Look, let me help." Stitches said. Marie walked off to the racks of dresses with Stitches, Mina following to help search through the pieces.

"I'm glad you two are here to do this with me." Marie said.

"No problems, Marie." Mina remarked. Stitches smiled.

"Of course, Mama." Stitches stood next to Marie, working along the rack the opposite way. She eventually came across something noteworthy.

"Mama," Stitches held the dress up, "this one?" she asked. Marie looked the dress up and down.

"It's very pretty, Stitches… but are you sure I can pull it off?" Marie asked.

"Put it this way-" Mina's smirk told Stitches something bad was coming.

"Mina…" Stitches warned, but it was too late.

"If you can't pull it off, I'm sure the Doc will afterwards." Mina spoke the words quickly before running off, hiding behind racks of dresses. Marie smiled and shook her head and Stitches turned her around.

"You'll look great, Mama." Stitches said. Marie walked into the changing room and Stitches turned around, glaring at Mina.

"Would you stop talking about my parents…"

"Going at it? Doing it? Having sex?" Mina asked. Stitches punched the redhead in the arm. She turned and walked out, Mina rubbing her arm before walking back out to join the two women.

"You found her another?" Azusa asked. Stitches nodded.

"I think she'll look great." Stitches grinned, sitting back down in the chair and waiting for her mother to come back out.

"You okay, Marie?" Azusa called. Marie walked out of the change room, a wide smile on her face. Azusa's eyes widened, Mina grinned widely and Stitches clasped her hand over her mouth.

"Mama…" Stitches trailed off.

The dress was down to the floor, and the fabric clung to Marie's figure but was not constricting. With every step, the dress flowed around her feet. The sleeves of the dress wrapped around the tops of Marie's upper arms, under her shoulders. In the centre of the neckline, in the middle of her chest, there was a small, embroidered teardrop shaped decal.

"I like it. And I never like anything." Azusa smirked. Marie smiled and looked at herself in the mirror.

"If I look like that, just, _ever_, I'll be happy." Mina remarked. Marie turned to Mina and gave a smile.

"Oh, Death, I'm getting married." Marie said, taking in a sharp breath.

"Yeah, you are." Azusa smiled.

"This is the one." Marie said, smoothing out the dress. Stitches and Mina stood to their feet, Stitches walking over to her mother and smiling.

"You look gorgeous, Mama." she said.

"Thank you, baby." Marie kissed Stitches on the cheek.

* * *

About a week after Marie had bought her wedding dress, her maid of honour, Azusa, along with Stitches and Mina went bridesmaid dress shopping. Maka and Naigus, the final bridesmaids, were to meet them there.

Marie knew that five bridesmaids was slightly… _over-the-top._ But, she didn't want to leave anyone out, and she had reasons for all of her bridesmaids.

She had Azusa, who had been one of her best friends for most of her life. They had met at the academy and had not separated since. She was her maid of honour, deservedly. There was nobody else, and Azusa took the position with great enthusiasm. She was more enthusiastic than anyone could have imagined.

Then, there was Naigus. While the two had gone to school together, after Marie learnt that she was pregnant with Stitches they became very good friends. Naigus had been her number one confidante when it came to matters of her pregnancy, and through that, Marie became firm friends with her.

Maka was next, and she was like a daughter to Marie. Since Maka's mother left, Marie had taken a motherly position, trying desperately to make up for her friend Kami's absence. Spirit and Kami's fighting started when Maka was very young, and Marie had spent many a night reading a young Maka to sleep when her parents were too preoccupied.

Then, of course, Stitches. Marie had always wanted children, and when Stitches came along, she knew why. Stitches had been Marie's number one priority for almost twenty years, and there was no question she was to be a part of her mother's big day. She was fairly disgruntled that she would have to wear a dress, though.

Finally, there was Mina. Marie had almost been a surrogate mother to Mina. But, they were not like that in the traditional sense, they were friends. After all, Mina had been on a first-name basis with Marie since she was six. While they were friends, Mina still had a deep-seated respect for Marie, despite their casual exchanges.

And, so, they were all her bridesmaids. And, as for Stein's groomsmen, well… other than Spirit, who Stein had begrudgingly picked as his best man for, quote, _lack of anyone else_, Marie essentially picked them for him. All of her bridesmaids had their significant others opposite them in the wedding party, and Stein was not one to get in Marie's way.

That was, everyone but Mina. She and Joseph were barely on speaking terms, but Mina had said that, if there was no other convenient way, she would grin and bear a day alongside the pistol.

"Where's Maka?" Stitches asked. Naigus shrugged. At that very second, Maka walked through the door, a sandy blonde girl attached to her.

"Sorry I'm late! I'm so sorry, I-" Maka began, but Marie shook her head and smiled.

"Never you mind, Maka." Marie smiled. Maka smiled and looked at all of the other women. Marie leant down to look at Aurora.

"And how is my little flower girl?" Marie asked. Aurora gave a tiny, baby smile and reached her arms out to Marie. Marie took Aurora and looked at her.

"Hey?" Marie asked. Aurora giggled and Maka sighed, pushing her now short hair behind her ears.

"Well, little miss over here refused to let go of Papa this morning. She's a daddy's girl." Maka said. Marie smiled and nodded.

"Oh, yes, we had one of those, didn't we?" Marie looked over at Stitches, who poked her tongue out.

"I loved you both equally." Stitches remarked.

"Yes, sweetie." Marie smiled, sitting down with Aurora and smiling. The consultant walked out of the office, towards the four women standing around.

"Okay, ladies," the consultant, Anne, began, "what sort of dresses do we want?" Mina piped up.

"I want a dress that makes my chest look like hers." Mina pointed to Stitches, who dropped her head.

"Don't we all?" Maka asked. Stitches frowned at Maka.

"You're supposed to be my big sister. You're supposed to stick up for me." she muttered. Maka giggled before turning back to the group.

"Now, I know it's the bride's final decision, but what colour do you th-"

"_Yellow_." they all answered, simultaneously, turning to Marie who had a smile on her face.

"Am I really that predictable?" Marie asked. The women all laughed before looking back at the consultant.

"And I think we need something symmetrical." Stitches looked over at Maka, who nodded insistently.

"If I want my husband to come within ten feet of me at any point in the night, then yes." Maka smirked. Anne nodded and smiled.

"And long." Azusa added. Anne nodded and looked at the women.

"So, yellow, long and symmetrical… I think I can do that." Anne walked out the back of the shop, all of the women gathering to chat once more.

"I'm wearing _yellow_ for you, Marie. You owe me." Naigus said, and Marie laughed.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll compliment Sid's blue beautifully." Maka remarked, and everyone laughed in response. Naigus smirked and crossed her arms, before Stitches piped up.

"Just one question," Stitches said, "do I have to wear heels?"

"Unless you want to be _even_ shorter than usual compared to everyone, yes." Naigus said. Stitches crossed her arms.

"A dress and heels, you'll be the death of me." Stitches said.

"Oh, come on, Stitches," Maka said, "Thomas won't be able to keep his hands off of you. And there's always _one_ _couple_ who has sex at someone else's wedding." Maka looked deliberately at Marie, her eyes widening. Stitches gasped and her eyes widened.

"Oh, Death, no, you guys, no!" she said. Marie looked at Stitches and shrugged.

"We were younger back then, Stitches." Marie giggled.

"I thought something was up with you two at that wedding." Naigus crossed her arms. Stitches dropped her head and sighed.

"I need therapy. _Oh, Death_, that's why you sent me to go and dance with Uncle Spirit! That's just grossly negligent parenting!" Stitches exclaimed.

"They thought they were being quiet, that's the sad part." Naigus said, but before Marie had time to be embarrassed, she saw Anne walk out with a rack of dresses, three sets of five.

"Now, if you just bear in mind that these will be in your yellow…" Anne pulled out one dress, a svelte, structured one. It had short sleeves, some detail around the bottom and was quite similar material to Marie's wedding dress.

"I don't know about that one," Azusa said, "the sleeves kind of freak me out." The sleeves puffed out ever so slightly. Anne put the dress back and pulled out the next one. It was undeniably pretty. It had spaghetti straps, and was very billowy around the skirt.

"I don't think that goes with the wedding dress very well." Stitches spoke up. Mina and Azusa nodded, so Anne pulled out the final dress.

"Ignore the colour on this one, and I think you'll like it…" Anne said.

She pulled the dress out and all five of the women smiled. It was strapless, with embroidery on the chest bodice. Under the chest, the material fell, smoothly and without creases, to the floor.

"It's gorgeous." Maka smiled.

"I'd love you guys to wear that." Marie had stood up with Aurora. Naigus gave a smile through her bandages.

"I don't like dresses, but I like that one." Stitches smiled, and Azusa gave a small laugh and nodded in agreement.

"I would have sex with that dress." Mina piped up. All of the women looked at her quizzically.

"Come on, I had to break up that boring run of adjectives." Mina laughed. Anne let all of the women walk forward and take the dress that was in their size. They all walked off and left Marie and Aurora with Anne.

"Is this our little flower girl?" Anne asked. The nearly one-year-old blinked twice, her wide amber eyes analysing the woman's face.

"Yes, it is." Marie smiled, and Aurora nodded at the sentence. Anne smiled and gently brushed her fingers over the little girl's nose.

"I think the dresses are a little big for you here, aren't they?" Anne asked. Aurora giggled and Marie smiled.

"You ready?" Mina called. Marie stood, looking at the doorway of the change rooms. All five of the women walked out of the change rooms and Marie's eyes widened.

"You're all gorgeous." Marie said, smiling widely. They all smiled and Marie gasped when Aurora leant forward, her hands grabbing out in front of her.

"Ma-a-ma!" she whimpered. Maka stepped forward and took Aurora from Marie.

"What is it, honey?" Maka asked. Aurora sat back in Maka's arm and smiled.

"Pretty." she mumbled. Maka smiled and kissed Aurora on the forehead.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Maka replied.

**A/N: SCHWWWAAAHHH. **

**Factoid #34: While the ages of Stein and Marie were established in the A/N at the beginning of this chapter, one could have theoretically worked it out from chapter 27 of **_**Stitched Together. **_**Stitches was twelve, and Stein and Marie remark that, while Spirit is already forty, they're only thirty-nine and thirty-eight respectively. But, seeing as it took me ages to work it out myself and I **_**wrote**_** this story, I didn't want to make you do that.**


	15. Girls Night In

**A/N: Girls night in – hells yes :D  
I don't own the film mentioned in this chapter.  
And there's a little bit of manga-canon in here – Joe Buttataki is Marie's ex-boyfriend.**

"It's so _sad!" _the blonde, pyjama clad hammer exclaimed, grabbing a tissue and wiping her eyes.

"If she'd just moved her ass then he could have fit and they both would have lived!" Mina exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Exactly!" Liz exclaimed, before feeling her phone buzz in her pocket. All of the women in the room, Marie, Azusa, Stitches, Martha, Patti, Tsubaki, Maka, who was holding Aurora, and Naigus, stared at her.

"Who is that?" Marie asked. Liz bit her lip and looked at the caller ID.

"… Soul." she muttered. Patti jumped over and grabbed the phone, going to answer it.

"No!" Liz exclaimed. Patti giggled before hitting the call button.

"Hello?" she asked.

"_Uh… hey, Patti… can I talk to Liz?" _Soul asked. Patti giggled.

"Soul, you know the rules. You're supposed to get Doctor Stein smashed and we're supposed to eat more ice-cream than any of us thought humanly possible and, except for Junior, _no boys are allowed to talk to any girls!_ Patti exclaimed.

"_Come on, Patti, this is childish, and-" _Soul began. Patti's eyes widened and she pouted.

"Childish, eh? Hang on a second." Patti shoved the phone in Martha's direction. Martha gave a warm smile and took the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"_Uh… hi. Who is this?"_ Soul asked.

"Oh, nobody special," Martha smiled, "just a nearly sixty-year-old woman who's taking part in this childish scheme."

"_Oh, uh, I'm sorry, I just…_"

"Sorry, Soul, was it? Yes, Soul, I can't talk to you. No boys allowed except Junior, remember? So, I think that you shouldn't bother your pretty little Elizabeth tonight, okay? We'll keep her safe for you." Martha laughed. Soul swallowed dryly.

"_O-Okay… bye then." _Soul hung up the phone and Martha closed it.

"There we go." she smiled. Liz took her phone back and blushed.

"Thanks, guys." Liz drawled, sarcastically. Marie sighed and leant back.

"You knew the rules, Liz." Marie said. Liz pouted and sighed.

"Fine, fine… Come on, next movie!" Liz exclaimed. The women all agreed and clambered to find their next soppy masterpiece. Before they did, Maka called out to Junior, who was currently in Stitches' old room, playing on her desktop computer.

"Junior, are you okay in there?" Maka called.

"Yes, Mama." the boy responded in a drawl. Maka sighed and sat back.

"He's getting older. He's not going to need me, soon." Maka sighed. Marie laid back and sighed.

"Don't worry, Maka," Marie smiled, "a boy will always need his mama."

* * *

After the next movie, Aurora had been put to bed in Stein and Marie's room and Junior had followed. The night pressed on, and after a few drunken calls from Stein, Spirit and Black*Star, the conversations in the room became more uninhibited and… giggly.

"Me? Uh, let's see… It was back when I was first assigned to Asia." Azusa began.

"Yeah? And…" Mina urged her on.

"Well, he was tall. Very mysterious. And, as an eighteen year old Deathscythe I was quite… _taken_… with him." Azusa said.

"No kidding." Marie laughed.

"Yeah, well. He was a few years older than me, and I think it was after a function. It started in the elevator, and we ended up on a balcony and a couple of bathroom stalls before we finally made it back to my hotel room." Azusa laughed.

"That's romantic." Liz smirked. Azusa laughed.

"Far from it. I woke up the next morning to a note that said _Thanks for the sex_ and an empty bed." Azusa shrugged. Marie nodded in remembrance.

"Yeah, you called me up that morning and you were just sobbing and sobbing…" Marie said.

"It sucked. If I ever find him again, I'll kill him." Azusa crossed her arms. Marie sighed and sat back.

"That's romance, is it?" Marie asked. Azusa nodded and poked her tongue out.

"Just because you lost yours to Stein and are still with him after thirty-odd years, despite all the stuff that's happened. Makes all of our romantic endeavours look feeble." Azusa said.

"Mmhm, because if there's one word people would use to describe Stein, it would be _romantic. _Don't forget who you're talking about, Yumi." Marie smirked.

"You can't forget – there was Joe in between, as well." Naigus pointed out. Azusa shrugged and nodded.

"Plus, I'm sure she had to find some way to pass the time in Oceania. Their summers are hot and you've gotta find something to do indoors. Or, in Marie's case, _someone._" Azusa said. Stitches winced.

"Oh, come on. Really? I could have lived without hearing that." Stitches sighed. The women all laughed and Maka spoke up.

"You could just embarrass her back." Maka said.

"Oh, no, I can't. She knows when I lost mine. Because she and Papa walked in as I was talking to Mina about it." Stitches winced, and the women all laughed.

"Seriously?" Tsubaki asked. Stitches nodded.

"My father then proceeded to drag Thomas out into the corridor and, literally, I swear to Shinigami-sama himself, threatened to castrate him if he ever took advantage of me." Stitches said. Marie shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"It's true." Marie giggled.

"What about you, Mina?" Maka asked. Mina groaned and crossed her arms.

"After the third-year Shibusen ball. But let's not remind me." she huffed. Stitches sighed and glanced at Mina, who sighed and removed the scowl from her face. She glanced at her former teacher with a smirk on her face.

"What about you?" Mina asked. Maka gave a small grin and sighed.

"Well, I just want to preface this by saying this; Papa always told me that he and Shinigami-sama used to be quite the drinking buddies. And that Shinigami-sama, and most shinigami, for that matter, had an odd knack for picking up women." Maka said. All of the women raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. And I didn't believe him, I just couldn't imagine why… until Kid took me back to his place after graduation." Maka bit her lip and the women squealed.

"It was… oh, just… I can't even… yeah." Maka blinked quickly. Everyone in the room laughed and Maka blushed and ducked her head.

"Someone else go." she said, and everyone sat around quietly before a sigh erupted from one of them.

"You're all very shy." Martha said, and everyone glanced at the white haired woman.

"My first and last was George." she began, and the way she spoke that sentence had everyone enthralled.

"We were very young, _very_ much in love. Eventually, we got married… We tried to have children for a long time, but… I couldn't." she said, and the sympathy in the room could be felt.

"He was a meister. He went on a mission with his weapon and neither of them came back." she said, and everyone gave a tiny gasp. Stitches scuttled over to Martha and wrapped her arms around the woman, and Martha gave a small laugh.

"It's alright, Shelley." she replied, and Stitches sighed.

"It's sad." she murmured, and Martha glanced sideways.

"It wasn't sad when he was around." she remarked, and Stitches laughed.

"You should definitely tell me details to threaten Thomas with." she replied, and Martha sighed.

"Sweetheart, it's bad enough to kiss and tell, let alone the things we did and tell." she murmured, and Stitches grinned and laughed, hugging Martha tightly.

"You're my favourite." she laughed, and Martha smiled.

"Alright, girls," Martha remarked, "come on." Though somewhat reluctant, eventually, everyone relented.

Naigus told of hers and Sid's awkward romp in the Shibusen dorms in their final year at Shibusen. Tsubaki told of the way that she did not lose her virginity to her husband, rather to a mysterious yojimbo before him. Liz told of the way she technically lost her virginity at a very young age in Brooklyn, but considered her first time with Soul to be the first time in her mind, and Patti said that she lost hers on a mission to central Europe, to a cute French boy.

And the women sat and laughed until they could laugh no more, and in the early hours of the morning, they fell asleep.

* * *

At four in the morning, the men who had gone out for Stein's bachelor party all stumbled into the laboratory in a drunken stupor. Many of them fell over, but Spirit, who was used to drunkenness, stayed upright.

"_Shhhh_," he whispered, "_th-the ladies are sleeping." _

"_O-Okay._" Kid said, trying to see straight in the dark. He was quite drunk. His body generally rejected toxins, but while constantly siphoning alcohol into himself over an extended period of time, that lost its full effect.

The men all slowly made their way over to their partners, if they had one there. Kid snuck over to the group of sleeping women, but could not find Maka.

"_Hey… psst!_" he said. Marie stirred and looked up at the shinigami.

"Kid… what is it?" Marie asked. Kid made very sure not to slur his words.

"_Where's Maka?"_ he whispered. Marie pointed to the bedroom door.

"She's in there with Junior and Aurora." Marie said. Kid shuffled off to the room, shutting the door behind him.

Thomas made his way over to Stitches and bent down slowly, as he was sort of tipsy. He shook her gently.

"Stitches?" he asked. Stitches opened her eyes and groaned.

"What?" she asked. Thomas grinned and pulled her to a standing position, off into her old bedroom.

"I'm not s-s-sleeping on the floor." Thomas said, shutting the door behind him and Stitches. Stein groaned and easily climbed over the back of the couch, landing firmly behind Marie, nearly knocking her off.

"You good there?" Marie asked. Stein groaned and wrapped his arm around Marie.

"_Shh,_" he shut his eyes tightly, "_i-if you keep talking so loudly, you'll wake Marie up."_ Marie simply giggled and took Stein's glasses off, putting them on the side table.

"You're very drunk, aren't you, honey?" Marie asked. Stein groaned and nodded.

"Come here." Marie wrapped her arms around Stein, burying her head into his chest and falling asleep once more. Joseph flopped down on the floor next to Mina, inadvertently wrapping his arms around her and beginning to snore. Spirit found a spot on the floor and managed to flop down onto Azusa, but she was too deep in slumber to notice.

Black*Star had found Tsubaki and they were spooning behind the couch. Soul was beside Liz, his hands sprawled out to the sides as they slept. Martha was curled up with a blanket on the large purple chair, away from the chaos on the floor. Naigus was in Sid's arms, and everyone was slowly going back to sleep.

For now, they were content.

* * *

The next morning, half of the people in the lab found that they suddenly had to play nurse. Spirit, considering the sheer volume of alcohol he had consumed, came up fairly well. Kid's immune system had taken the brunt of the hangover, and he was presentable for his children in the morning.

Everyone else, however, had not pulled up too well.

"Stein… Stein, I've got to go to the bathroom." Marie said, Stein's arms wrapped immovably around her.

"Marie," Stein groaned, "If I move, my head is going to explode."

"Now, you know that's not true." Marie said, sitting up and pulling Stein's arms away from her.

"You'll be fine." Marie said, standing up and walking away. Before going to the bathroom, she took stock of all of the people everywhere.

All of the men, bar Spirit and Kid, looked well and truly defeated, Joseph even more so after his tongue lashing from Mina about curling up with her. Stitches snuck out of her room, obviously so she didn't wake Thomas. All of the women were tutting at the men, and some of them were laughing.

Sure, it was probably not the best idea. But, out of the not-so-smart ideas come the best memories.

And Marie wanted nothing more than to make memories with the people that meant the most to her.

**A/N: The awkward moment when Spirit's the most level headed person in the room.**

**Factoid #35: Martha's partner's name is a reference to George and Martha Washington, America's first President and his wife. Also, the hippopotamuses on the show, you know, **_**George and Martha?**_** If I'm honest, I think I probably used it because of that show more than the historical thing – but that sounded smarter. Also – George is Thomas' middle name. **


	16. Rehearsing and Reassuring

**A/N: The wedding is so close I can **_**smell**_ **it. One more chapter and then it's the big day! But, for now, have this.**

**And, I just want to clarify. The place that Stein and Marie are getting married, yes, it's a church. And, though religion isn't a specified thing (I don't know, they can get married at the Church of Shinigami-ism. I don't know.) a church is the classic wedding setting. And I think Marie would want that. And who am I to deny Marie Mjolnir?**

"Aurora, come back here!" Maka exclaimed, running after the now one-year-old. Aurora, like her brother, had developed quickly due to her shinigami blood. She was already walking and talking. Kid did the same as his wife, and Junior stood back and simply laughed at his sister. She had wriggled out of Maka's grasps during the wedding rehearsal, and was currently running up and down the aisles.

"Aurora Spirit, you get here _right now!_" Maka called. Aurora gave a tiny squeal and ran, full pelt, into Stitches' legs.

"Aunny Stishes!" Aurora clutched onto Stitches' legs and the hammer looked up to see two frazzled thirty-somethings, Maka with her hands on her hips and Kid trying to catch his breath.

"Aurora…" Kid sighed, Aurora reached up and opened and closed her fists impatiently. Stitches picked her up and looked at Maka.

"Do you want her-" Stitches began, but Aurora wrapped her arms around Stitches' neck and would not let go.

"I stay with Aunny Stishes." Aurora lisped. Maka sighed and nodded, walking back to her place in the bridal party.

"Sorry, Marie, Doctor." Maka said, and Kid did the same. Marie smiled and shook her head.

"Don't worry, Maka." Marie said, giving a reassuring smile. Maka sighed and stood back, making sure that her other child was behaving on the other side of the chapel. Junior straightened at his mother's gaze and she stood back.

"Right. Let's get on with this, hey?" Marie asked. The wedding party all nodded and watched intently as the ceremony was run through once again, this time in full. Stein and Marie kissed, evoking smiles from everyone, even Stitches.

The women then all walked over to the place where they had put their heels, as they were practising walking down the small chapel stairs without falling over. Stitches stood up precariously, not used to heels, seeing as the last time she'd worn them was to a Shibusen dance.

"Okay. So, we know our order?" Marie asked. Spirit smirked and Azusa rolled her eyes.

"Yeah." she muttered.

Stein and Marie walked down, Marie not able to suppress the smile on her face as she leant on Stein. Even Stein could not help but smirk, partly because of the notion of his marriage, but also because he knew how happy Marie was.

"Okay, now, just imagine you're being pelted with rice. It's getting _everywhere._" Mina called. Everyone laughed and the atmosphere calmed.

The maid of honour and the best man then walked out together, Azusa navigating her heels very well as she, for the sake of formality, interlinked arms with Spirit.

"Smile and pretend we're sleeping together." Spirit murmured.

"Smile and I won't _kick you in the groin_." Azusa hissed. Spirit couldn't suppress laughter and they continued walking despite Azusa's annoyance.

Naigus then made her way down with Sid, her hand wrapped around his bicep. Kid and Maka walked down next, followed quickly by Junior holding the hand of Aurora, who insisted on walking. Mina and Joseph walked behind them, Mina's arms firmly crossed.

Then, finally, it was Stitches and Thomas' turn, Stitches walked quickly over to the blonde and held onto him for dear life.

"_Do not,_" Stitches muttered, "_let go of me._" Thomas chuckled and wrapped his arm around Stitches' waist, helping her stand upright. They walked out into the foyer where everyone was standing.

"Well there we go. I just think we should probably prepare for someone to be sobbing grossly on the day." Naigus said.

"I'll put my money on Spirit." Stein spoke up. Spirit would usually have been insulted, but he walked around behind Stein and Marie and slung his arms over their shoulders.

"Geez, my little meister's getting married, eh? Ah, you're good kids." Spirit laughed. Stein groaned and Maka sighed and dropped her head into her hands.

"Well, I don't know about you," Maka said, resting her hand on Junior's shoulder, "but I've got a couple of hungry kids with no patience whatsoever." Kid nodded in agreement, kissing Maka gently on the cheek. Marie smiled and nodded.

"Come on," she smiled, "let's pack up."

* * *

"Come play with us, Aunty Stitches!" Junior exclaimed, pulling the sleeve of Stitches' jumper, trying to get Stitches out of her seat with Aurora. Stitches smiled and stood up.

"Okay, okay!" Stitches laughed, but as she stood up to walk over to the area Junior wanted her to go. Junior stood his ground, however, looking at the blonde boy who was sat next to Stitches.

"… Who's that?" Junior asked, for as long as he'd seen that man with Stitches, he'd never asked who he was.

"That's Thomas, my boyfriend." Stitches smiled. Junior blinked twice before looking at Stitches once more.

"D'you think he wants to come too? He might be lonely without you." Junior said, thoughtfully. Stitches smiled and nodded, leaning over to Thomas.

"Junior wants you to come on the playground with us." Stitches said. Thomas stood from his seat and looked over at Maka and Kid.

"You cool with it?" he asked. Maka nodded and smiled.

"If Stitches trusts you, then I trust you." Maka said. Thomas nodded with a small smile and pushed his hair out of his eyes, walking alongside Stitches, Junior and Aurora. Junior seemed to be analysing him intently.

"You okay, buddy?" Thomas asked. Junior blinked quickly and sighed.

"Mr. Thomas-sama, sir?" Junior shoved every honorific he could think of into that sentence.

"You can just call me Thomas, buddy." Thomas laughed. Junior nodded and looked down.

"Okay… Thomas, my papa says that if you love a girl, you have to take very good care of her and you have to love her and hug her a lot, and give her the special hugs that only two people in love can share." Junior said. Thomas gave a small nod and crossed his arms.

"Does he?" Thomas asked with a small smirk. Junior nodded as they got out to the playground.

"Do you do that stuff to Aunty Stitches?" Junior asked. Thomas made very sure not to laugh at the young shinigami's choice of words and nodded.

"I do." he smirked. Junior smiled and clasped his hands.

"I'm glad. Because if you didn't, then I'd have to talk to Papa and Doctor Stein because that would mean you weren't being a good boyfriend. And we have to protect Aunty Stitches." Junior stated. Thomas sighed and stood up.

"Well, I think someone's been talking to Doctor Stein _a lot._ So, do you want to go on this playground or not?" Thomas asked. Junior nodded and ran towards the playground. Stitches was going to call Thomas back if he ran off, but he didn't. Instead, he knelt down in front of Aurora, who was looking spectacularly shy.

"You gonna come with us, Aurora?" Thomas asked. Aurora looked down and babbled.

"Big kids… scary." Aurora mumbled. Thomas gave a reassuring smile and picked Aurora up.

"Well, I'm not scary, am I?" Thomas asked. Aurora shook her head.

"Well, you see, I'm a _super_ big kid. I'll look after you, and so will your brother." Thomas said. Aurora gave a tiny smile and Thomas turned to Stitches.

"You joining us?" Thomas asked. Stitches laughed.

"Oh, as much as I'd love to, I don't think so." Stitches walked over to the bench at the side of the playground, watching as Thomas guarded Aurora whilst keeping check on Junior.

_Just think, _Stitches thought, _that could be us in a few years._

Stitches was jolted from her thoughts when both Marie and Maka walked out to the playground.

"Here to keep a check on your children, Mama?" Stitches asked. Marie smiled and sat down next to Stitches, Maka sitting down on the other side of the silver haired hammer.

At that moment, a cry erupted from a girl who Maka _knew_ was her daughter. She looked up to the top of the slide and realised that it was not a scream of fear, it was of delight.

"You ready?" Thomas asked Aurora, his arms firmly around her and his legs either side of her, sitting at the top of the slide. She threw her arms up and giggled.

"Yay!" she giggled, and Thomas gently pushed himself and Aurora down the slide, using the backs of his canvas sneakers to slow the descent. When he got to the bottom, a wide smile graced his features at the raucous laughter of Aurora.

"Look at that man. My daughter is dating that man. That man could be my son-in-law someday." Marie sighed.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Mama. It took you and Papa twenty-odd years to get married." Stitches remarked. Maka shook her head.

"Don't wait too long - keep him. You hold onto him, you never let him go and you have many, _many _babies with him." Maka said. Stitches giggled and looked at Thomas as he walked over to them, holding a still giggling girl.

"Hey." he said, oblivious to their conversation. Maka smiled and stood up, taking Aurora from Thomas.

"You've encountered one of her frequent laughing fits, I'm afraid," Maka smiled, "You know, it takes a hell of a person to get her to laugh like that." Maka stated. Thomas smirked and shrugged.

"I just challenged Junior to a race to the top. Don't want to let him down." Thomas said, turning around and walking back to the playground. Maka sat down and looked at Stitches.

"Is it bad that I have a little cougar crush on your boyfriend?" Maka asked. Stitches went to answer, but Marie piped up.

"You, not so much. Me? Yes." Marie smirked. Stitches sighed and dropped her head.

"Hey. Stop that." she murmured, before her eyes flicked up to Thomas, who was helping Junior up onto the platform on the playground.

She'd never been one for the old story about taking a chance on the shy ones when they were young because they might be late bloomers. But, for her boyfriend, it was true.

"Hey, Stitches?" Thomas called from three levels up the playground.

"Yes?" Stitches asked. Thomas beckoned her with a hand and she begrudgingly stood up, walking over, underneath the place where Thomas was.

"If you think I'm climbing up there, you're sorely mistaken." Stitches muttered. Thomas sighed and smirked.

"Go around." he said. Stitches shuffled over to the other side of the playground to see Thomas hanging upside down, his hand outstretched.

"Come on…" he teased.

"You're _actually_ horrible." Stitches sighed and took Thomas' hand, climbing the playground until she got to the level Thomas was at.

"What do you wan-" Stitches was cut off when Thomas kissed her. His hands gently grasped her waist and he stabilised her on the platform.

"I'm not complaining but… why?" Stitches asked. Thomas shrugged and sat back.

"Because I can. And, because, with all of the planning for your parents' wedding, you've kind of forgotten about yourself. And, sure, I'll help with the wedding, I'll help look after Kid and Maka's children, but you're still my number one priority." Thomas smiled. Stitches shook her head and sighed.

"I will wake up one day. Because _you_ are impossible." Stitches said. Thomas shrugged and sat back.

"I'm really not. But, you know, back to the matter at hand." Thomas grabbed Stitches firmly by the waist and spun her around until her legs sat at the top of the slide.

"Don't even." Stitches warned, Thomas grabbed the bar above his head and with a quick thrust forward, he and Stitches went flying down the slide. Stitches dug her fingers into Thomas' thighs. When they got to the bottom, she heard a chuckle from behind her.

"You know, for a prodigal Deathscythe," Thomas whispered in her ear, "you're a giant wuss." Stitches turned around and thwacked him in the arm.

"Ow." he raised an eyebrow and Stitches shook her head and stood up, not able to suppress laughter.

Sure, she and Thomas might have kids someday. But, for now, they really were just super big kids. And that was fine with them.

**A/N: ANSJKDHALSDA WEDDING NEXT.**

**Factoid #36: Remember how I said that Stitches was going to use a derivative of **_**thwack**_** at some point in this story? It's in this chapter. (I sort of didn't realise it was so close to the factoid okay so pretend it took you ages to find.)**


	17. The Big Day

**A/N: Here we are. 107 chapters (yes, **_**107!**_**) since that fateful first encounter, Stein and Marie are finally making it official. And, just for you guys, we're having not just one, but two chapters of marital bliss! **

**Oh, and for the sake of legality: I live in Australia. The legal drinking age here is 18. So, for a little delightful creative license, we're going to ignore the fact that Death City is in America where the legal drinking age is 21 and say it's 18, okay?**

Stein was woken up on his wedding day by his floor.

"Happy wedding day!" Spirit cried, and Stein rolled his eyes.

"I hate you." Stein grabbed blindly for his glasses, and Spirit laughed.

"Come on. You have to be enthusiastic with me. Kid's keeping Junior in check, pardon the pun but Sid's dead tired, Joseph's freaking out because Mina hates him and Thomas is scared out of his tiny little mind. It's up to us to be enthusiastic." Spirit said.

"I want to kill you right now." Stein replied.

"Wow. Most romantic day of your life and all you can think about is murder. Terrible." Spirit remarked. Stein pushed himself up off of the floor and adjusted his glasses.

"It's fine as long as I get it the right way around. Murder you, marry Marie. Simple enough." Stein remarked. Spirit sighed and patted Stein twice on the back.

"I'm so proud of you, my little meister." Spirit said.

"Get off of me." Stein replied.

"You aren't a morning person, are you?" Spirit asked.

"Okay, I was joking before, but if the next thing you say isn't _Here's some coffee, Stein, _I will actually murder you." Stein stated.

"Here's some coffee, Stein." Spirit said, and Stein glanced sideways to see Spirit with nothing.

"I _said _it…" he remarked, and Stein narrowed his eyes. Spirit recoiled.

"_Okay, _someone get the groom some coffee." Spirit walked quickly away from the silver-haired meister, and he sighed. The only one of them brave enough to approach him was Junior, who cleared his throat.

"Doctor Stein?" he asked. Stein glanced down.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Why is Aunty Stitches' boyfriend so scared of you?" Junior asked. Stein crossed his arms and shrugged.

"For the same reason your partners will all be scared of your mother, Junior." Stein replied. Junior's face contorted in thought and he walked back over to his father, simultaneously watching his redheaded grandfather bring Stein coffee.

"Thanks. Why are you so animated this morning?" Stein asked. Spirit sighed.

"Honestly? Because I've watched you and Marie do this whole dance of _we're okay not being married_ for years, but everyone's always known she wanted to get married. And the fact that you're doing it – you understand I actually care about what happens to you, right?" Spirit asked. Stein shrugged.

"Well, I do. And could you imagine you being stable and lucid enough to do anything like this twenty years ago?" Spirit asked. Stein shook his head.

"Yeah. That's why I'm so animated. I'm happy for you. You're good kids." he smirked. Stein rolled his eyes.

"You're a sap." Stein said.

"Pretty sure you knew that." Spirit smirked. Stein sighed and nodded.

"And, you can't forget, I've got a lot to live up to. You were my best man." Spirit remarked.

"What exactly do you have to live up to?" Stein asked.

"I have awkward nineteen-year old you who had to get Marie to do up his tie for him." Spirit remarked. Stein pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I do hope you know how to do up a tie." Stein said. Spirit nodded and Stein glanced sideways.

"Good. Because I can't." he said. Spirit clicked his tongue.

"So you're a doctor but you can't do up a tie. You'd better go shower now if we've got that debacle to look forward to." Spirit said. Stein nodded and turned, setting down his coffee and leaving the room. Spirit sighed and shook his head.

"Is he okay?" Sid asked. Spirit turned to him, arms crossed. Though it had been a long time since they had been weapon and meister, Spirit could still read Stein.

"Sid," he sighed, "Stein is terrified."

* * *

The commotion that come from six women in one room trying to get dresses on with one young girl watching on and laughing was more than one may have expected.

"Okay, I need someone to do me up."

"Little busy here for the moment, sorry!"

"Who has the double-sided tape?"

"Ask a Mjolnir, they have to most to tape."

"Mina, shut up."

"Do you have the double-sided tape?"

"… Maybe."

Mina laughed and outstretched her hand, into which Stitches dropped a small roll of tape. The redhead relayed it to the combat knife, who nodded gratefully. Stitches then walked over to Marie and noticed that she was being very quiet.

"Mama, you okay?" Stitches asked. Marie looked at Stitches, tiny tears forming in her eyes but a smile on her face nevertheless.

"I'm getting _married, _Stitches." she said. Stitches smiled.

"Isn't this supposed to be the other way around?" Stitches asked.

"Oh, could you imagine that? Your father would _die._" Marie remarked. Stitches laughed and smiled.

"I have something to ask you. And you can say no." Marie said, and Stitches raised an eyebrow. Marie took Stitches' hands and sighed.

"Sweetheart, you and your father are my whole family. And seeing as your father's not exactly going to be able to do it…" Marie bit back tears, Stitches doing the same.

"I want you to be the one to give me away. If you w-"

"Of course I will, Mama." Stitches lurched forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her mother, and Marie squeezed her eyes shut.

"Thank you." she murmured.

"Don't cry, you'll wreck your makeup." Stitches murmured.

"And that's the Doc's job for later when you're all-"

"If you continue that sentence I will _concuss _you." Stitches stated. Mina grinned and Stitches shook her head.

"Who's going to take Aurora and Junior down, then?" Mina asked.

"Oh… Well, Thomas could do it." Stitches said. She walked over to the girl on the bed and knelt down.

"Aurora, would you like Thomas to carry you down to see Marie and Doctor Stein get married?" Stitches asked. Aurora frowned.

"Who Thomas?" she asked. Stitches crossed her arms.

"You know Thomas! He's Aunty Stitches' friend!" she smiled.

"Her _special_ friend!" Mina said, and Stitches resisted the urge to punch the redhead to smile at the young girl. Her expression brightened and she nodded insistently.

"Yay!" she clapped her hands together, and Stitches smiled.

"You have to be good for Thomas, okay? Keep him safe for me." Stitches said. Aurora nodded wildly.

"Okay!" she giggled, and Maka smiled.

"I'm surprised she didn't remember him. She was absolutely _mad_ about him after their go on the playground the other week." Maka said. Stitches smiled.

"Well, so long as she likes him. So long as he's still coping by the time he's done this morning." Stitches remarked. Maka sighed.

"He's still scared of Doctor Stein?" she asked. Stitches nodded.

"I don't see why he's still so scared." she remarked, and Azusa sighed.

"Easy for you to say, young lady. You've had him wrapped around your little finger since the minute you were born." Azusa said. Stitches sighed.

"There's only one woman he'd come close to doing as much for as he's done for you, and he's marrying her." Naigus piped up.

"Taken him long enough." Mina remarked. Everyone laughed and Marie sighed.

"Were we really that bad?" Marie asked.

"Oh, yeah. I had to watch your awkward sexual tension in class stage." Maka remarked.

"What? How many of you students were analysing us instead of listening?" Marie asked.

"Uh… everyone." Maka replied. Marie sighed and couldn't help but laugh.

"And then I was privileged to watch you both in baby brain mode. That was great." Maka remarked. Naigus' head bobbed up.

"Oh, when Franken kept bringing the-"

"_Baby keys in his pocket!_" Naigus and Maka spoke and laughed in unison, and Marie smiled and clasped her hands.

"I do want to say one thing." Azusa said. All eyes flicked to her, and she sighed.

"I really, _really_ wasn't a big fan of Stein when you started seeing each other. When I found out you were pregnant, I probably could have killed him." Azusa said.

"Cheery." Mina murmured, and Azusa cleared her throat.

"_But…_ for some inexplicable reason, he makes you happy. And, so… I'm glad you're getting married. I really am." Azusa said.

"Yumi, you're gonna make me cry!" Marie tried to fan her face, and Azusa came rushing over to her, hugging her tightly.

"Oh, sorry, I'm an awful maid of honour!" she exclaimed. Marie shook her head.

"No," she smiled, wiping at her tears, "you're perfect."

* * *

"Stein… Stein, you're going to be fine." Spirit reassured the silver-haired man.

"I know that. I… I know that, don't I?" Stein asked. Spirit nodded.

"You do. Calm down." Spirit said. Stein sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Look at me. I'm shaking. It's ridiculous." Stein mumbled. Spirit sighed and grasped Stein's shoulder.

"You're just nervous." Spirit said.

"You say that like it's nothing, Spirit." Stein swallowed hard, and Spirit patted Stein on the back.

"Everyone gets nervous on their wedding day. Even you." he said, and Stein pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and exhaled.

"You're going to be fine. Come on." Spirit said. Stein took a deep breath in and pushed open the back side door, and the eyes of all the guests flicked to him. He walked around to where he had to stand and sighed, Spirit following not too far behind. He very nearly stopped and turned back around, but Spirit had accommodated for that, his hand firmly behind Stein's shoulder blade.

"_You're fine._" he murmured. Stein sighed and took his spot, Spirit nearby, and he sighed.

Franken Stein was getting _married._

This had never even been a blip on his radar, not for a very long time. And then Marie came along - when he remembered Marie, the way she controlled his madness yet lit up his life, he knew why he was standing at the front of everyone like an _idiot_; standing there with hundreds of eyes on him, feeling awkward and uncomfortable and downright petrified.

Meanwhile, out the front, the bridesmaids and Marie had arrived. The bridesmaids all got out first, meeting up with their respective partners. None of them had seen the bridesmaids dresses, and nobody was more shocked that Thomas.

"Are you staring, Thomas Cameron?" Stitches asked, the mere spectacle of her wearing a dress only first on the list of things that were making Thomas stare.

"Um… I want to say no, but I don't want to lie. How do I respond so that you'll be happy and I can still stare?" Thomas asked. Stitches rolled her eyes and stood next to him, holding onto his arm as Marie's car pulled up.

"This is it, Thomas." Stitches whispered. Marie got out of the car, stepping onto the ground and standing up. Everyone stopped for a second, Marie looking up at all of the wedding party. She gave a warm smile which never failed to calm a room, and she walked up the stairs, looking at Stitches.

"Oh! Right! I'm giving Mama away!" Stitches said. Thomas cocked an eyebrow.

"Does that mean I get to walk down stupidly by myself?" he asked. Stitches gave a smile and shook her head.

"No. You're going to walk down with Aurora and Junior, okay?" Stitches asked. Thomas nodded and smiled before looking at Marie as she walked past.

"Sorry for stealing your girlfriend, Thomas." Marie gave a warm smile. Thomas shrugged.

"I think, on this occasion, it's understandable." Thomas said. Marie smiled and stood back as a familiar, traditional tune began. They had decided to let the groomsmen and bridesmaids walk down together, and so they all ordered up. Thomas stood at the door, picking up Aurora who had decided that she was _not_ walking at the moment, and followed Junior down the aisle. The combined noise of all of the guests standing up and turning around jolted Junior but urged on Aurora.

"Flowers!" she beamed, throwing the flower petals all over Thomas and her own little, puffy yellow dress. He simply shook them off of himself and Aurora, smiling all the while, and continued walking down the aisle. As he got the the end, he took his place next to Stein, leaving space for Spirit.

Next down the aisle were Mina and Joseph, Mina mustering her best smile as she begrudgingly linked arms with Joseph, and they took their respective spots on either side of the altar. Then followed Sid and Naigus, and finally, Spirit and Azusa.

And then the guests knew with the change of tune, Marie was about to arrive. The guests watched intently at the door.

Marie took a deep breath and stepped into the aisle, holding a bouquet of yellow roses in her hands. Her hair was high on her head in a neat bun, her veil behind her and ceasing in the middle of her back. Stitches followed closely behind, not able to keep the smile off her face.

Marie reached the altar and looked up at Stein. He had an uncharacteristic yet welcomed smile on his face.

"And, who gives this woman here today?" the priest asked. Stitches stepped forward.

"Shelley Stein." Stitches smiled.

"And do you give this woman to this man?" he asked once more. Stitches nodded.

"I suppose." Stitches smiled even wider. Marie was already on the brink of tears, and she very quickly hugged Stitches.

"Thank you." the priest said. Stitches nodded and quickly took Aurora off of Thomas before walking back to take her place in between Azusa and Naigus. She looked at her father.

"You take care of her, now." she muttered. Stein smirked and nodded.

The priest went throught the usual rigmarole, but eventually, he got to the vows.

"Franken and Marie have written personal vows to one another." the priest said.

It was Marie's idea.

"Franken, I…" Marie looked down before looking back into Stein's eyes.

"We've known each other nearly all of our lives. And I can honestly say that I've loved you for most of my life. You've been there for me, no matter the risk to yourself, and you are my steadfast. I don't ever want to lose you. _Ever._" Marie took Stein's hands in her own.

"We've been together for a long time. We share a wonderful daughter, we have an amazing life together. Franken, I've been through everything with you, and I don't know what I'd do without you." Marie said, and the tears began to flow. She felt Stein grip her hands tighter.

"And I don't ever want to find out what it's like to be without you. I don't want to be without you, Franken, and that's the truth. Sure, we have our flaws. But everybody does. And you know my flaws, you know my weaknesses, you've seen me at my worst and you've brought me back to my best and _I love you." _Marie smiled widely, her thumbs brushing across the backs of Stein's hands.

"Franken, when it comes down to it, I can ramble and go on and on, but there's one thing that matters today. And that's the fact that I love you. And I always will." Marie's voice cracked with tears at the end of the final word and she rubbed furiously at her eyes. Stein chuckled and sighed.

"Franken? Your vows to Marie." The priest urged.

"Yes, of course." Stein said, pushing his glasses further up over the bridge of his nose.

"Marie… I tried for hours, days on end to make this sound… husband-like. To make it sound like I'm the type of person who settles down in a house with a white picket fence with a dog who fetches the paper each morning. And, though it may seem a surprise… It took a long while for me to remember that I'm not that man." Stein said. Marie gave a tiny laugh and smiled widely.

"I am an analytical, pragmatic and, yes, at times, a mad man. But, for a reason that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to discern, you still love me." Stein's voice gained a sort of resonating tone.

"And, for that reason in and of itself, I learnt love and I learnt it for you. I learnt it to give it to you. Because, over the years, we've gotten together, we've broken up, we've gotten back together and at some point in the middle there, I'm pretty sure we had a daughter or something." Stein chuckled. Marie laughed and so did Stitches.

"And so, for all my clinical, scientific love is worth… I love you, Marie." Stein said, accompanied with a small smile. Tears fell from Marie's eyes once more and she shook her head.

"_It's worth the world_." Marie whispered. Stein gave a small chuckle and the priest spoke up.

"The rings?" the priest asked. Spirit fumbled around in his pocket for a second before fishing out the two bands.

"There you go." Spirit handed the smaller band to Stein and the larger one to Marie.

"Okay, now, face one another and repeat after me." The priest said. They both nodded and Stein held the ring between his thumb and forefinger.

"With this ring, I thee wed." the priest said. Marie held out her left hand and Stein slid the ring on as he repeated the words.

"With this ring, I thee wed." he said, quietly. The priest turned to Marie.

"Now, you." he urged. Marie smiled and nodded. Marie slid the ring onto Stein's left ring finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Marie was choked up with tears once more, and this time Stein could not restrain himself. Instinctually, his hand pressed gently against the side of Marie's face and he wiped the tears from her uncovered eye.

"By the powers vested in me by the powers that be in Death City, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." the priest said.

Stein leant down and he snaked his hands around Marie's waist, pressing their lips together. The guests all made a roaring noise that was probably inappropriate in a church, but they didn't care. Anyone who was anyone in Death City knew that a Stein-Mjolnir wedding had been a _long_ time coming. Stitches smiled widely and looked over at Spirit, who was wiping his eyes.

_Huh,_ Stitches thought, _Papa was right._

As the cheering died down slightly, the priest spoke up once more.

"I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Franken Stein." he said, and the church erupted once more.

Stitches smiled widely and watched as her parents walked down the aisle, hand in hand, down into the foyer. Spirit and Azusa followed, along with Kid, Maka, Junior and Aurora. Sid and Naigus came next, as they had in rehearsal, followed by Mina and Joseph and then Stitches and Thomas. Thomas looked over at Martha and quickly ran over to her, taking her hand.

"Ms Mjol-" Thomas corrected himself, "_Mrs Stein_ wants you in the photographs."

"Me?" Martha asked. Thomas nodded and helped Martha out of her seat, and she walked alongside Stitches and Thomas. They got out into the foyer and Marie was obviously still in a daze. Stitches stepped forwards in front of her parents.

"Okay. I'm going to do this, and it's going to be very unprofessional and childish, but… _Mama and Papa, oh, Death, you guys!_" Stitches squealed, hugging both of her parents tightly. They hugged her back before Stitches stepped backwards and brushed her dress down.

"Okay, none of you saw that." Stitches said. Everyone chuckled and nodded,

"Who knew you were such a deep, emotional soul with the vows, Stein?" Spirit asked. Stein glared at the Deathscythe and crossed his arms.

"You shut up." he replied. Marie giggled and wrapped her arms around Stein's waist.

"Husband… okay, that's going to take a lot of getting used to." Marie said.

"Does this mean you own me now?" Stein asked.

"Please, Franken," Marie looked up at Stein, "I've owned you for years." Stein chuckled and sighed.

"It's so true." he said, taking Marie's hand once more as the photographer led them out to the front of the church.

And, just like that, Stein and Marie's wedding was over.

But, the day had only just begun.

**A/N: I just want to say, until recently I've never been super-hooked on the idea of Stein and Marie getting married. I tried to make this as in-character as possible but it's difficult. But we also need to remember we're twenty-odd years down the track from Soul Eater and people change. Also, I know this story is anime canon, but in the manga, Stein's progressed a lot – there's one particular page in chapter 97 of SE where Stein and Marie are so painfully OTP and it shows a little bit of Stein's progression with her. But, nevertheless - please forgive me – I'm a fluff writer, **_**OOC**_** does not exist in my world.**

**Factoid #37: Where the priest announces that it's Mr. and Mrs. Stein, it would technically still be Dr. and Mrs. Stein as Dr. overrides Mr. But once again we go back to me being a fluff writer and throwing actual logic and continuity out of the window.**


	18. It's About Love

**A/N: And here is part two, my lovelies. **

"Who let him near the alcohol?" Stein leant down to whisper in Marie's ear and Spirit stood up, colour in his cheeks and a goofy smile on his face. They were at the reception in the ballroom of one of the hotels in Death City.

"It sure wasn't me." Marie replied. Stein sighed and cranked his blot backwards until it clicked.

"More importantly, who said he could make a speech?" he asked once more. Marie gave a tiny laugh and took Stein's hand underneath the table.

"Alright, alright, alright," Spirit said, picking up the microphone and slouching backwards, "let's get this thing done. Can I, first of all, start this speech with… _finally!_" Spirit turned to the newlyweds, giving a tiny shrug.

"I mean, come on, Stein. It's only taken you thirty odd years and a kid to man up and marry the poor girl." Spirit chuckled, as did the room.

"_But, _seriously, these two have really been through it _all. _And when one of you spends a good chunk of their time beating bad guys to death with the other one, there's a sort of unspoken connection. Hell, I should know, this guy used to swing me around like there was no tomorrow." Spirit chuckled.

"Right, uh... yeah, we should probably do some reminiscent crap here. Uh… well, I went to school with the happy couple, so I'm _in the know_." Spirit laughed.

"Boy, there are some stories I could tell that would be highly inappropriate considering the company, and would probably result in very expensive therapy for their pretty little daughter over there. So, we'll leave that one there." Spirit chuckled, running his fingers through his still rich red hair. He still had not greyed, much to the dismay of most other men his age.

"So, after school, some major crap happened. And it sucked, but, with the resurrection of the Demon God, Marie over here came back. Thank goodness for the housing shortage in Death City at the time, because Marie had to move up into the laboratory." Spirit grinned, and Marie rested her head on Stein's shoulder.

"And, hey, she hasn't left for twenty years. She's never payed a _cent – _I reckon she's sleeping with the landlord." Spirit grinned.

"I resent that accusation." Marie called.

"And I confirm it, Marie – remember that one time I brought Stitches back to the lab and I walked in on – actually, I'll stop or my goddaughter will kill me." Spirit remarked, and Stitches rolled her eyes.

"Now, watch as I say the stuff I'm gonna get punched for. So, Shibusen did their ass-kicking duties and defeated the Demon God, and everyone celebrated. _Apparently, _a couple of people celebrated in a quite intimate way and, hey presto, nine months later we met Stitches." Spirit continued. Stitches sighed and shook her head.

"The stork brought me!" Stitches called, causing the guests to laugh.

"Yeah, nine months after your parents had _sex, _kid." Spirit replied, and Stitches frowned before laughing despite herself. Spirit gave Stitches a tiny salute before looking back at the audience.

"And, the rest, as they say, is history. It's been a long time coming, and, from what I can discern, these two still love each other." Spirit turned to look at the two.

"You do still love each other, right?" Spirit asked. They both nodded and Spirit crossed his arms.

"Yeah? Prove it." Spirit smirked, knowing full well that neither Marie nor Stein were ones for public displays of affection.

Spirit's fact was disproved when Marie took Stein's face in her hands and kissed him deeply, her fingers threading up into his hair.

"Okay, I believe you. And, that's all from me, folks. I do private parties. Spirit Albarn. Take a card." Spirit winked before taking his seat at the bridal table once more. Azusa stood up, the flush in her cheeks the sign of her intoxication, champagne flute in hand.

"To the happy couple!" she exclaimed, and everybody joined her in toast.

"Hey, Stitches." Azusa leant down to the hammer.

"Yeah?" Stitches asked. Azusa took her hand and got her to stand from the table.

"What are we doing?" Stitches asked. Azusa handed Stitches the microphone, taking her aback.

"They're having their first dance. So, you go and introduce them." Azusa said. The room went quiet when the microphone squealed.

"Thanks a bunch, Aunt Yumi." Stitches said. Azusa stepped back with a tiny smirk. Stitches sighed.

"Okay, uh, I hope the extensive planning I've done for this shines through here." Stitches said quietly into the microphone. The room gave a reassuring laugh.

"Okay. It gives me great pleasure and relief to present to you guys my parents, Mr. and Mrs.," Stitches turned to her parents and shook her head, "…still sounds _so_ weird, but nevertheless… Mr. and Mrs. Stein." Stitches smiled widely and her parents stepped forward, both of them smiling at her before stepping onto the dance floor.

"I don't know how to dance." Stein muttered. Marie smiled and shook her head.

"It doesn't matter." Marie smiled. She rested her hand on Stein's shoulder and his hand rested on her hip, their other hands intertwined. The music began and the newlyweds started to sway, Marie's head quickly dropping to Stein's chest and her arm wrapping around his waist.

After a minute or two, others began to join Stein and Marie on the dance floor. Kid took Aurora to dance with her, followed by Sid and Naigus and Stitches and Thomas. Junior also begrudgingly stood up to dance with his overenthusiastic mother. Spirit turned to Azusa, who was standing by herself, looking lonely.

"Come on." he said, poking her in the back.

"What, Albarn?" Azusa asked. Spirit grinned and looked Azusa up and down.

"You're the maid of honour, I'm the best man. Plus, I hate to see a lady get all dolled up and have no one to dance with." Spirit held out his hand, and due to her state of intoxication, Azusa took it. They walked onto the dance floor and joined in the dancing.

Mina glanced at Joseph down the table. She looked at him sympathetically for a second before glancing away. Joseph sighed, clenched his fists and stood up, walking over to Mina.

"Mina…" he said, quietly.

"What?" she snapped.

"Mina, please, I just want to have a civil conversation." he said. Mina glanced and him and sighed, sitting back.

"Go on." she lamented.

"Mina, I know that I was a total ass. And I know that I've made you feel crap, because I made myself feel crap. I could have all the support in the world and I still wouldn't be happy – and it's because I'm unhappy if you're unhappy with me. I don't want to be in this state of constant hatred, Mina. I can't do it." Joseph poured his heart out to the redhead, and she looked up at him.

"You cheated on me." she said.

"I missed you. And I thought I was doing it because she had red hair and eyes that kind of looked like yours and I thought it'd remind me of you. And as soon as I'd kissed her I knew I'd been a total idiot and that I missed you more." Joseph clenched his jaw and Mina's eyes widened almost imperceptibly.

"I just want to be at a place where you don't hate me. If all you can muster is indifference, that's great. Friends, even better. But I can't go on with you hating me."

Mina blinked and she glanced down.

"I've been a bitch, Joseph, but I can't forgive you." she glanced up at him, and he swallowed, eyes swimming with tears.

"I don't want to be friends." she finally said, wringing her hands. Joseph's breath hitched in his throat and his hands began to quiver.

"I'm willing to see if I can make us work again. It's going to take time." she looked up, and Joseph took a sharp breath in.

"Really?" he asked. Mina stood up and closed her eyes, nodding.

"Really." she said. She walked around the table and Joseph walked towards her.

"Can I hug you?" he asked. Mina gave a small smile and nodded.

"You can hug me." she replied. Joseph slid his arms around her waist and dropped his head to her ear.

"I'm so sorry." he murmured.

"I don't want you apologising all the time. I want you to ask me to dance." she stated. He stood up and held his hand out.

"Dance with me?" he raised his eyebrows and she shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"You're an idiot. Come on." she said, and he led her onto the dance floor. Thomas and Stitches glanced over and a wide grin appeared on their faces.

"Oh, thank Death." Stitches gave a sigh of relief and rested her head on Thomas' chest.

After another minute, the song drew to a close and everyone applauded. The song then changed to something more upbeat, and everyone changed partners. Thomas walked over to dance with Martha, and Kid found Maka as Aurora ran over to her grandfather.

"Dance?" she looked up at him with wide, golden eyes. Spirit gave a wide smile and picked Aurora up, spinning her around.

"Of course, baby girl." he laughed.

After the second song concluded, Marie stood in front of the bridal table.

"Okay, guys! Well, if that fact that I caught the bouquet at the last wedding, Maka and Kid's, this is some serious stuff here. So, ladies?" Marie asked. All of the women clambered behind the now turned around Marie. She tossed the bouquet over her shoulder and it flew through the air. Defying all odds, the bouquet made its way into the hands of…

"_Stitches!" _Mina exclaimed, nearly jumping on the shell-shocked woman with the bouquet.

"Mama!" Stitches growled. Marie turned around and gave a little shrug. The attention then shifted to Thomas, who was standing around with his hands in his pockets.

"Don't even think about it." Stein warned. Marie sighed and walked over to Stein, wrapping her arm around his waist.

"I hate to break up this little bonding moment," Marie gave a small smile, "but St-" Marie stopped, raising an eyebrow.

"What is it?" Stein asked.

"… Franken. I have to call you that now." Marie said. Stein dropped his head.

"Really?" he whined. Marie sighed and shrugged.

"We'll work it out. We've got to go." Marie said. Stein nodded and he walked over to Stitches, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Yea- _Papa._" Stitches smiled.

"Hi. We're off now, you've got the laboratory keys?" Stein asked. Stitches nodded.

"Yes, everything's going to be fine. You and Mama have a good time and please, never feel that you have to disclose to me anything that happens on your honeymoon." Stitches nodded. Mina walked up behind her and rested her head on Stitches' shoulder.

"They're gonna have sex. A lot of sex." Mina said. Stitches elbowed Mina in the stomach and she staggered backwards.

"I'll miss you guys." Stitches hugged her parents and smiled.

"Congrats, guys." Mina said. Stein and Marie nodded and they had garnered quite an audience by the time they got out out to the waiting car.

"We'll see you in a couple of weeks." Marie smiled before a lightbulb went off in her head. She looked around until she saw a crop of white hair.

"Martha." Marie said, hugging Martha tightly.

"I'll make sure the kids behave while you're gone, okay?" Martha asked. Marie nodded.

"Goodbye, Martha. Bye, everyone!" Marie called, getting into the car after Stein. Everyone waved and cheered as the newlyweds left the building.

* * *

"_Thomas,_ wh-what are you doing?" Stitches giggled as Thomas rested his hands on her hips, standing in the carpark.

"You," Thomas chuckled, "are drunk."

"I-I-I'm not trunk, Dhomas." Stitches slurred.

"You are _so_ trunk." Thomas replied with a laugh, and Stitches laughed wildly.

"I don't know if you'll remember in the morning, me saying this, but you're gorgeous in a dress, Stitches." Thomas said. Stitches giggled and dropped her head backwards.

"You're only saying that," Stitches muttered, "because you get to see more boob when I'm in a dress."

"I resent that accusation." Thomas smirked, and Stitches frowned and wrapped her arms around Thomas' midsection.

"Thomas… Thomas, the floor is spinning. Stop it." Stitches moaned. Thomas sighed and spoke calmly.

"Just close your eyes and it'll stop." Thomas said. Stitches did so, wrapping her arms around Thomas tightly. He sighed.

"Come on." he said, and he hooked his arm underneath Stitches' shoulders and picked her up, hooking his other arm behind her knees.

He walked slowly out across the carpark, sighting his car quickly. Stitches wrapped her arms around Thomas' neck just as he saw a familiar face walk up beside him.

"Are you going to be okay with her, sweetheart?" Martha asked. Thomas nodded.

"Yeah. Have you got Marie's dress?" he asked, and Martha nodded.

"Keeping it safe for her until she and Franken get back from their honeymoon." Martha said, and before Thomas could reply, Stitches piped up.

"M-Mina said my parents were gonna have _sex,_ and I-I-I don't want them to do _that._ That's _icky._" Stitches remarked. Thomas sighed and Martha did the same.

"I'm afraid that's up to them, sweetheart." she smiled, and Stitches sighed.

"I-I should c-call them and make sure they don't have _sex._" Stitches managed.

"Somehow I don't think that's going to stop them." Thomas remarked, and Stitches screwed up her face.

"_Gross._" she said. Martha smiled and gently rubbed Stitches' shoulder.

"Make sure you let me know you two get back safely." she told the blonde, and Thomas nodded, gently setting Stitches down to retrieve his keys.

"I will. Love you." he leant down to hug Martha, and she hugged him back tightly.

"I love you too, Thomas." she murmured, and she walked away to her own car. Thomas turned back to Stitches, and she was giggling wildly.

"Come on, Stitches." Thomas said, putting his hands firmly on Stitches' hips and opening the car door, trying to help her into the passenger's seat.

"I… I love you." Stitches mumbled, raising her hands above her head and draping them around Thomas' neck gently.

"I love you too, but you've got to get in the car." Thomas gently sat Stitches down, and she gave a small, discontented groan.

"I wanna go _home_." she pouted.

"We're going home." Thomas laughed.

* * *

"I'm married."

"Yes."

"_We're _married."

"Yes."

"Are you going to reply with more than one word at some point?"

"… Perhaps."

Marie sighed and smiled as the doors of the elevator opened, and they walked into the corridor of the hotel. It was rare for them to get out of Death City, especially on their own time, not as agents of Shinigami-sama and Shibusen.

"I'm your _wife_ now." she said, incredulously.

"Yes. And, this may shock you, but I'm your _husband._" he said. Marie hit Stein in the arm and he smirked, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. They got to their door and Marie unlocked it, but felt a small tug on the back of the dress she'd changed into for the reception.

"Stein?" she turned around, and he rolled his eyes.

"Are you forgetting something?" he asked. Marie raised an eyebrow. Stein sighed.

"We've waited all these years to get married and you're not even going to let me carry you over the threshold?" Stein asked. Marie smiled widely.

"You _remembered._" she murmured, and Stein sighed.

"You've trained me well." he told her, and she wrapped her arms around Stein's neck. He could see it all in her expression – gratitude, total elation and complete adoration and love. He remembered why he was doing this, and honestly, why he did most things – for her.

He leant down slightly to catch his arm under the backs of her knees and he picked her up easily. She tipped her head back and giggled gleefully, the smile that had been plastered on her face the whole day not wavering.

"Shall we, Mrs. Stein?" he asked, and she rested against his shoulder and nodded against his cheek as they walked into the room.

"… That was a little anti-climactic." Stein remarked. Marie shook her head.

"No, it wasn't, St- _ooh, _are those chocolates on the pillows?" Marie wriggled out of Stein's hold and leapt onto the bed.

"It's comfy. I know everyone takes shampoo and the little soaps, do you think it's too much to steal a mattress from a hotel room?" Marie asked. Stein looked up from where he was bringing the bags into the room, surreptitiously locking the door behind him, making very sure that the _Do Not Disturb _sign was on the outside.

"Uh, yes. A little." he remarked. Marie sighed and as Stein turned around, she threw a pillow at him and giggled.

"How much did you drink?" he asked, and Marie got up onto her knees and crawled to the end of the bed, rearing up face-to-face with Stein.

"Not much." she told him, and she sidled forward, and it was only when she was this close to him that Stein could see the tiny creases that now formed in the corners of Marie's eyes when she smiled. She shook her head and sighed.

"You're my _husband._" she said.

"You're my _wife._" Stein replied. Marie shook her head.

"It's _official._" she mused.

"We're _married._" Stein added, and Marie grinned, leaning forward and gently draping her arm around Stein's shoulder.

"And, so long as we're stating facts," her voice dropped to a whisper as her lips moved to Stein's ear, "_I'm not wearing any underwear."_

"Ah, so _that's _why I married you." Stein replied, and Marie giggled. She reared back and Stein laced his fingers through her hair, pressing his lips firmly to hers.

Needless to say, the newlyweds celebrated their new union until the early hours of the next morning.

**A/N: Ah, writing about my OTP doing it. It's been too long. It really takes me back, all the way back to story two… *sigh* **

**Factoid #38: Originally, Mina and Joseph got back together after Stein woke up after his collapse. I read through it and it seemed too rushed, so I shifted it here. Originally, the cliff-hanger before Stein and Marie got engaged was going to be a question of who was engaged, with the recently reconciled Mina and Joseph a possibility. But, as I said, it was rushed and rewritten and the cliffhanger was made more vague to facilitate it.**


	19. A Fleeting Moment

**A/N: Angst ahead, everybody.**

"Oh… Death… Kill me now." Stitches moaned, stretched across the couch, her eyes firmly closed.

"You know, I'm the one who had to carry you to the car and up these stairs last night." Thomas replied.

"Please. I'm the one who got stupidly drunk." Stitches mumbled. Thomas laughed and leant down to gently kiss Stitches on the forehead.

"Yeah… who'd have thought you and Mina were such good karaoke singers?"" Thomas asked.

"Shut up." Stitches muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose, under her glasses.

"Didn't your parents want you to ring?" Thomas reminded Stitches. Stitches groaned and threw her hands up in the air.

"Can't you do it?" Stitches asked.

"Uh, your parents are on their _honeymoon_, I really don't want to risk anything." Thomas said.

"You say that like I do. And who answers the phone while they're having sex?" Stitches asked. Thomas sighed and walked over to Stein's desk, grabbing the phone and giving it to Stitches. She sighed and dialled in the number of the hotel.

"Hi, uh, I was just wondering if you've got a Stein check-in or phone extension." Stitches asked.

"Yeah? They just got in? Okay, sure, thanks." Stitches said, in her sweetest possible voice despite the hangover.

"_Hello?_" a familiar voice asked.

"Hey, Mama." Stitches said, tiredly.

"_Hi, baby. How are you?" _Marie asked.

"Uh, pretty terrible, actually." Stitches said. Marie sighed into the receiver.

"_How much did you drink after we left?"_

"Uh… a little?" Stitches mumbled.

"_Oh, honey."_

"Yeah, never mind that now. So, you're both over there safely?" Stitches asked.

"_Yes, we are."_

"I'm glad." Stitches smiled and shut her eyes.

"_Thanks again, you and Thomas, for looking after the lab while we're gone._" Marie said. Stitches smiled.

"That's fine. It's the beauty of having roommates." Stitches laughed before wincing.

"_Oh, it sounds like you've got a good hangover there, baby._"

"Tell me about it." Stitches rubbed her forehead.

"_Well, I'll let you go then. I don't want to make it worse."_

"Okay, Mama. We'll check in with you soon. Bye." Stitches smiled before hanging up and handing the phone back to Thomas.

"Ugh… my _head…_" Stitches whined. Thomas sighed and went over to the kitchen.

"Is there aspirin anywhere?" Thomas asked. Stitches sighed.

"Uh, I doubt anything's been changed around. Beakers are in the far left cupboard, then it's surgical tools. After that, it's all the kitchen stuff… try the second cabinet from the right." Stitches said. Thomas opened it and looked into it.

"… Is that a mouse?" Thomas asked. Stitches sighed.

"Yeah, I'd not touch him." Stitches said. Thomas sighed and looked into the cupboard, pulling out the aspirin and popping out two pills. He pulled a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with tap water, walking over to Stitches.

"Here you go." Thomas sat Stitches up and she took the aspirin.

"Thanks." she said, hoarsely. Thomas sighed and let Stitches lean against him. Hopefully the next week would be a bit more comfortable than today for his girlfriend.

* * *

It was four days into Stein and Marie's honeymoon when disaster struck.

Thomas' mobile rang at ten that morning, and he pulled it out and answered.

"Hello?" Thomas asked.

"Yes, I'm Martha Cameron's son. Wha-" Thomas' face dropped and he was certain he was going to be sick.

"No." he simply muttered. Stitches sat bolt upright and her eyes widened. Thomas shook and he held the phone tight to his ear.

"I'll be right there." he said, solemnly, and he hung up the phone. He began to tremble and he shook his head frantically, standing up and fumbling around for his car keys as he began to cry. Stitches walked over to Thomas and she put her hand on his back.

"Thomas, what is it?" Stitches asked. Thomas turned to Stitches, his emerald eyes clouded with tears.

"… _Ms Martha is in hospital and they don't think she's going to make the hour._"

Stitches felt herself go instantly cold and she shook her head.

"We have to go… we have to go and see her, I need… I need to see her!" Thomas exclaimed, striding out the door and running down the stairs.

"Thomas, wait!" Stitches called, her own voice cracking with tears.

"_No! _No, I-I can't wait, I need to go, I need to see her, I need to… I have to say so much but there's not enough time and I-" Thomas shook his head and opened his car, sitting in the driver's seat. Stitches ran, full pelt, and got into the passenger's seat.

He took his keys from his pocket and tried desperately to put the key into the ignition, but his hand was shaking so wildly that he couldn't.

"I-I can't breathe. I-I-I… help, _I can't…" _Thomas shivered and he finally got the key into the ignition.

"Are you sure you can drive?" she asked. and Thomas whimpered, rubbing at his eyes wildly.

"Y-Y-Yeah…" he said, and the car started.

Stitches kept a close eye on Thomas as he drove. She didn't want him to do anything drastic, but she also couldn't imagine how he was feeling.

As for Thomas - he had never wanted time to stop so profoundly.

* * *

"_No._"

Thomas whispered as he walked into the hospital room, Martha attached to multiple monitors and barely alive. He walked over to her side, grasping her hand tightly.

"Is that-" a nurse walked up behind Stitches, but she just gave a small nod.

"It's her son." Stitches said. The nurse nodded and walked over to the sobbing blonde man.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Cameron." the nurse said. Thomas nodded and held Martha's hand tighter.

"What happened?" Thomas asked in a whisper.

"She had a heart attack. Her heart muscle is dying, Mr. Cameron." the nurse spoke quietly, and Thomas shook his head wildly.

"Wh… What's going to happen?" he asked, and his breath caught in his throat.

"She's on life support at the moment. But, I'm afraid there's nothing more we can do for her, Mr. Cameron. We expect her to pass peacefully soon." the nurse said.

"B-But can't you leave her on life support?" he asked.

"She's only going to decline. There's no point to keeping her on life support any longer-"

"_Of course there's a point, she's my mother!_" he cried, and Stitches rushed up to grasp his bicep.

"She isn't getting better, Mr. Cameron. I'm so sorry." the nurse seemed shaken, and Thomas recoiled, seeming to suddenly remember he was an over six-foot-tall man who, when yelling, could be quite intimidating.

"I… P-Please. You j-just have to k-keep her alive until…" Thomas' eyes flicked over Martha in the hospital bed.

"You are the only family, though?" the nurse asked, and Thomas' eyes flicked to the nurse.

"I… yes, b-but I…" he stammered, and Stitches squeezed his arm. His eyes darted back to Stitches and she felt him tremble.

"Stitches, I…" he tried to talk, and she saw his jaw working but no words came out.

"The necrosis is pervasive and unpredictable, Mr. Cameron. This way, you can see her before… Otherwise, you run the risk of her crashing." the nurse murmured, and Thomas dropped his eyes to the floor.

"I d-d-don't want that." he whispered, and Stitches ran her hand up his arm to grasp his shoulder. He took a sharp breath in and walked over to Martha, and the nurse spoke up once more.

"You can talk to her. There's nothing to suggest she can't hear you, Mr. Cameron." the nurse said before walking away to fetch a doctor. Thomas sat down and took in a shuddery breath. Before he spoke, he looked up at Stitches.

"_Please_." he mouthed, and Stitches' eyes widened, but she knew she needed to go over there for Thomas. Her legs worked before her mind did and before she knew it, her hands were grasping the back of the chair as Thomas sat forward, grasping Martha's hand.

"Ms Ma… Mama. This is… I d-don't want to be d-doing this. I d-didn't want to be doing this ever." Thomas said.

"I j-just… I n-need you to know that I l-love you. I always w-will love you. You t-took me in when nobody wanted me and you l-loved me." Thomas said, leaning into Martha.

"I will n-n-never let anyone f-forget you. I will never forget you. I will tell my kids, I'll tell my grandkids about you, I'll tell anyone that'll listen how amazing you are. I l-love you so much. P-Please… I d-don't want you to go." Thomas whispered.

Stitches couldn't take her eyes away from the scene. Her hands came up to hide her face and tears began to fall. They sat that way for a while – neither of them were sure quite how long, before a doctor jolted their attention.

"Mr. Cameron."

Thomas turned his head to see a solemn-looking doctor and another nurse standing beside him.

"We need your express permission to remove Ms Cameron from life support." he said, and Thomas saw the paperwork in his hand. His eyes darted to the floor.

"I…I can't sign… I'm going to be sick, I c-can't sign her life away!" Thomas cried, and Stitches placed her hand on his back.

"I-I've been here barely an hour and you're asking m-me to sign her away!" his words came through sobs, and as Stitches tried to calm Thomas, a monitor started beeping rapidly.

"She's crashing." The doctor spoke sharply, and people started to move frantically through the ward.

"N-No!_ No!"_ Thomas' head flicked up and her cried out, Stitches wrapping her arms around his shoulders to restrain him.

"I want to sign the f-form, _I want to sign the damn form! Let me sign it!_"

Thomas couldn't help but scream, and Stitches felt her knees go weak at his cries. She collapsed behind him and he stopped for a second before trying to burst through the wall of doctors and nurses.

"Mr. Cameron, please!" a nurse came forward and held him back, and his eyes were so wide and tearful and frantic that even the nurse was shaken.

"L-let me sign the form, l-let me sign it, I'll s-sign it, please, I'll d-d-do anything, l-let me sign it, Mama, no!" he tried to reach past the nurse, but she held him back, and he saw the doctor step back as the machines kept manically beeping.

"There's nothing to do." he murmured, and the team stepped back. Martha did not move, and eventually, all of the beeps ran into one loud, long drone. The doctor's eyes dropped and he flicked off the machine next to him.

Then nothing. Silence.

"Time of death, 11:08 am." the doctor stated, solemnly.

Thomas' eyes widened and he trembled.

"N-N-No… no… not, she's not, she can't… no." he mumbled wildly to himself, and as Stitches finally got to his feet, Thomas collapsed.

"Thomas!" she cried, and she went to his side, only able to see hands pressed to his face as tears covered them. His head shook wildly and she could only wrap her arms around him. He rocked into her hold as he murmured unintelligibly into his own palms.

"… _Mama, no…" _Only a few of Thomas' murmurs were distinguishable, and Stitches rested her chin on his head as he sobbed.

She would have to tell everyone – Mina, Joseph, her parents – who she was sure would come back from their honeymoon the second they heard. She squeezed her eyes shut and tears rolled down her cheeks.

A boy had lost his mother – the only family he had ever known.

The whole scene was nothing short of tragic.


	20. In The Aftermath

**A/N: I've learnt in writing this chapter that grief is difficult to write well. I hope I've done it justice.**

Stitches woke up the morning after Martha's death, in the laboratory, to an empty bed.

She had notified her parents of Martha's passing the day before, and they had returned home that very afternoon. Martha had died at about eleven, and by five they had picked Stitches and Thomas up from the hospital and taken them back to the laboratory. Mina had visited and stayed until late that night, but Joseph had not yet been able to get back from his mission.

She had stayed in her old bedroom with Thomas, who slept in her bed with her, despite the fact that they had stayed up most of the night for Thomas couldn't sleep. Eventually, Stitches had succumbed to slumber and now Thomas was gone.

"Thomas?" she called. He was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, Death, Thomas!" Stitches jumped out of bed and ran out into the living room.

"Thomas?!" Stitches called, frantically. She looked around, but he was not in the kitchen, nor the bathroom, nor outside. When she ran back inside, both Stein and Marie were awake.

"Stitches, what's wrong?" Marie asked. Stitches blinked quickly and rubbed at her eyes.

"Thomas is gone, Mama!" she exclaimed. Marie's eyes widened and she strode over to Stitches.

"Where could he have gone, honey?" Marie asked. Stitches shook her head frantically and began to hyperventilate.

"I have no idea, Mama!" Stitches fretted. Marie wrapped her arms around Stitches to stop her from shaking.

"Okay," Marie said, "you need to go and look for him. Seeing as you've got no idea where he could be…" Marie turned to Stein, who sighed and nodded.

"Let me get my coat." he muttered, walking back into the bedroom. Stitches looked up at Marie.

"Why aren't you coming?" Stitches asked.

"I'll stay here in case he comes back." Marie said. Stitches nodded and watched as Stein walked out of the bedroom.

"I'm ready when you are." Stein said. Stitches nodded and ran to her room, getting dressed as fast as she could. She ran back out of the room and Stein nodded.

"Okay," she sniffled, "let's go."

* * *

"Can you sense his soul, yet?" Stitches asked. Stein shook his head and cranked his screw backwards, focusing hard on picking up any trace of a response.

"It's difficult finding individual responses, especially from meisters. Weapons are distinct, witches are unmistakable, but meisters are difficult." Stein said.

"But you can still find him, right?" Stitches asked.

"Yeah, yeah, just-" Stein stopped and took a hard left, walking into a forested area.

"Papa, where are you-"

"The old training ground." Stein said. Stitches ran alongside her father.

"Are you sure?" Stitches asked.

"I'm almost certain," Stein said, "I've been there enough to be able to pinpoint the location." Stein finished and Stitches continued walking. After a couple of minutes, through the bushes and trees, a blonde man was sitting on one of the logs that doubled as a bench.

"Papa…" Stitches whispered. Stein nodded and stepped forward, though Thomas did not move. Thomas also did not stir when Stein sat down next to him. He simply kept his head dropped and did not move.

"You're not speaking?" Stein inquired. When he got no response, he sighed and dropped his hands into his lap.

"I don't remember my parents." Stein began. Thomas did not move his head, but glanced at Stein through blonde tresses.

"I was pretty much raised at Shibusen. But, I had one relative. An aunt." Stein continued. Stitches kept standing close enough to hear, but not close enough to interrupt.

"Other than Marie… she was the only reason I didn't kill myself when I was younger." Stein continued to speak to himself. Thomas turned his head ever-so-slightly.

"Yeah?" he muttered. Stein turned to Thomas and sighed.

"I was about your age when she died. And… I didn't want to live anymore. If it weren't for Marie hanging around for me for a while before going to Oceania, I wouldn't be here." Stein said.

"I'm sorry." Thomas said, dropping his head once more.

"Don't be. Because she taught me a hell of a lot. She taught me what little humanity I retained during madness. She taught me so much, and I'm sure Martha did that for you, too." Stein continued. Thomas nodded, clenching his jaw.

"She was a good woman, Martha. And you're going to remember everything she taught you for the rest of your life. And, if Stitches has anything to do with it, you're going to pass it down to my grandchildren." Stein said, quietly. Thomas' eyes widened, and even Stein was shocked at what he had said.

"And she's going to still be here." Stein said. Stitches was taken aback as well as Thomas.

"I just… I wish she didn't have to go." Thomas muttered. Stein clasped his hands and looked back behind him.

"I'll get Stitches." Stein murmured. Thomas nodded slightly and Stein went to leave, but Thomas looked up and coughed, causing Stein to look back.

"Thank you." Thomas said. Stein gave a small nod of acknowledgement and walked over to Stitches as she walked to Thomas.

"Thomas…" Stitches sat down next to Thomas, who began to tremble.

"Why is she gone? Why? I mean… I barely got to say goodbye." Thomas said. Stitches wrapped her arm around Thomas' shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I can't answer that." Stitches said.

"I'm not going to cry with your father in the vicinity." Thomas promised himself. Stitches sighed and looked up at Thomas.

"Cry for her. Because you have the rest of your life to remember the good things, and you will spend the rest of your life doing it. But, right now, honestly, if you have to cry… cry for her." Stitches said.

Thomas's eyes began to fill with tears and Stitches pulled his face down to bury into her neck. Stitches felt herself begin to cry, and she gently stood Thomas up and began to walk over to Stein.

"Let's go." Stitches sniffled. Stein nodded and walked next to Thomas, across from Stitches.

"I am sorry, Thomas." Stein said, and Thomas stopped.

They say grief comes in waves, and this one hit Thomas violently. It was like it had just hit that she was gone – that Martha wasn't coming back.

"_Oh, Death!_" he cried, hoarsely, his knees giving way as he fell onto the ground, his head falling into his hands as his sobs wracked his entire body. Stitches dropped beside him, resting her head against the back of his neck and rubbing circles into his back. Stitches looked up at Stein – she couldn't pick Thomas up. Stein nodded and Stitches stepped back, allowing Stein to kneel beside Thomas.

"Come on." he muttered, pulling one of Thomas' hands away from his face and hooking his arm underneath the blonde's, bracing it across his back.

"We're going to stand up on three. One… two… three, _up._" Stein pulled Thomas to a standing position, taking the weight of the young man as he continued to cry.

"I j-j-just wuh-want m-my mama. Th-That's all!" Thomas cried, Stitches wrapping her arm around his waist and taking some of the load off of Stein. She, too, was crying, Thomas' previous statement shaking her.

What if she lost her parents? Her parents certainly performed more dangerous work than Martha – but she couldn't think of those things now. She needed to support Thomas.

* * *

At one the next morning, there were three in on the couch. Stitches leant against Thomas, whose face was simply broken and spent. Mina was on his opposite side, on the arm of the couch, one arm around his shoulders, the other smoothing his hair back from his tear-stained face.

Thomas' breaths were still accompanied by small hics, his eyes ringed with red. At that moment, Joseph walked in the door, only having just been able to return from his mission after hearing the news. He dropped his bag at the door and glanced up to see his listless meister with his eyes down, his head hung.

"Thomas… Tom, I'm so sorry." Joseph walked quickly over to his meister, who was now standing, and hugged him tightly, feeling Thomas' arms brace around him as he began to cry once more.

"I… I feel awful. M-My head…" Thomas snivelled. Joseph helped him back down into his seat, and Mina stood up to get him some headache pills, Stitches to get him some water.

"Shinigami-sama sends his condolences… so do all the Deathscythes." Joseph said, quietly. Thomas nodded and shook, Joseph putting his arm around the younger man firmly.

"We're here for you, man." Joseph said. Mina came back with the pills and Thomas put them in his mouth, Stitches handing him the water. He took a large gulp and swallowed the pills, before looking up at Stitches and Mina, his eyes flicking to Joseph as well. Joseph looked at Stitches.

"I'll stay with him. You two try to get some rest." Stitches said. Mina looked at Stitches, quizzically.

"Are you sure?" Mina asked. Stitches nodded adamantly. Mina nodded and Joseph hugged Thomas once more before standing up and hugging Stitches.

"I'll take care of him." Stitches whispered.

"Thank you." Joseph murmured back, rubbing Stitches' back a moment before taking Mina's hand and going to her room.

Stitches sat down next to Thomas, and she held her hand out, her fingers splayed wide open. He looked down at it and placed his hand on the top, interlinking their fingers. He shook slightly, and Stitches brought the back of his hand up to her lips.

"I'm here for you." she murmured, gently. Tears rolled down Thomas' face and he nodded.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Stitches asked. Thomas nodded, still teary and stuffy, and he stood to his feet.

"I-I-I'm s-s-s-"

"Shh, shh. Don't apologise, you don't have to say anything." Stitches said, gently, smoothing his hair. Thomas turned to face Stitches, his now-pallid face making his eyes look an even deeper green, despite the fact that they were reddened.

"What is it?" Stitches asked. Thomas took a step forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Stitches.

"Th-Thank you. I l-love you." he murmured gently, a sentence he knew he could only get out in between his waves of grief. Stitches took his hand tightly in hers and led him to the bedroom.

* * *

"_No! No, no, no! Don't take her away, no! Not her too, no!"_

The blonde's frantic screams caused Stitches to wake up with a start, looking over at Thomas, who was trembling.

"Thomas! Thomas, wake up!" Stitches shook Thomas and his eyes opened, tears streaming down the sides of his face. He looked jarred and perpetually tired.

"S-Stitches, Death, Stitches…" Thomas took large, hitching breaths and Stitches looked at him, her eyes wide and worried. Thomas wrapped his arms around her and dropped his head to her shoulder, and she braced her arms around his back.

"It's okay… what happened?" Thomas asked.

"Y-You g-got taken too, a-and I lost you, and-"

"What's wrong?" Mina poked her head around the side of the door, her eyes weary. Stitches shook her head, mouthing _It's okay_ despite the fact that it most definitely wasn't, and Mina nodded, shutting the door around.

"It's okay, I'm here." Stitches murmured. Thomas trembled and whimpered, and Stitches planted a kiss in his hair.

"D-Don't leave." Thomas snivelled.

"I won't. I won't leave." Stitches whispered back.

Little did she know, Thomas hadn't told her everything in his dream.

She hadn't told him who took her away – and what that person had told him.

**A/N: There was no factoid last chapter because I intentionally made it abrupt and sudden. **

**Factoid #39: I took some creative license in detecting meister souls – considering that there's been nothing to say that meisters are genetically different from humans (though things such as Soul Menace may suggest otherwise) I would think they would be more difficult to discern.**


	21. The Difficult Day

"Are you ready?" Stitches asked Thomas as they stood at the front of the chapel, waiting for the funeral attendees to arrive. Thomas clasped his hands in front of him and shook his head.

"No." he whispered.

Stitches rubbed her eyes before wrapping her arm around Thomas' waist. Stein, Marie, Mina and Joseph had already arrived for support, but now, the guests began to pile in.

Not only did Martha's friends arrive, Shibusen's people did as well. The DWMA was a tight knit family, and when one of their own was grieving, they grieved too.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Thomas shook the hand of the next leader of Death City, Kid coming through with his wife, who hugged both Thomas and Stitches firmly, and his children who didn't quite understand grief just yet. Having said that, Junior held Aurora's hand as she cried – she was crying because she had seen others doing so.

Stitches helped to welcome the rest of the people through, for she could sense that Thomas was still very upset.

After all of the attendees got in, Stitches and Thomas made their way to sit at the front. Thomas sat in the aisle and Stitches sat beside him. Stein sat next to Stitches, Marie on her husband's right. Joseph and Mina ended the row.

After an introduction and general readings from the funeral director, Thomas was called up to give the eulogy. He crumpled the pieces of paper in his hand slightly and he took a deep breath, standing up. Stitches rubbed Thomas' lower back and he took her hand for a moment, taking another deep breath and walking to the podium.

He looked out at all of the people there. Some people he didn't know. Most of them, however, he did, and they all looked as worried for him as he was for himself.

He took a shuddery breath, his green eyes trembling with the rest of him. He adjusted his tie and smoothed out his suit jacket.

"Hi." Thomas said, quietly. He rubbed his eyes and coughed.

"I… My…M-My muh-muh-_muh_…" Thomas stammered wildly as he dropped her head, murmurs rippling through the crown. Thomas lifted his head to look at Stitches.

"_I can't do this." _Thomas mouthed, wordlessly. He dropped his head again, his hand gripping the eulogy he was supposed to give as tears began to roll down his face. Stitches held a hand with a tissue in it up to her mouth, wanting desperately to go up and help her boyfriend, but her emotions made her unable to. She looked to her left, up to the green eyes of her father.

"Papa… please go and help him. Please." Stitches whispered. Stein would usually have had qualms, but, even if he did not feel them, he knew that emotions were heightened around this situation. Stein stood up and walked over to the quivering man, gripping his shoulder tightly in solemnity.

"Come on, give it here." Stein said quietly, tugging the sheet gently out of the young man's hands, not removing his own hand from his shoulder.

"Okay." Stein said, pushing his glasses up over the bridge of his nose and clearing his throat. He noticed his wife's odd mix of sadness and pride, for she knew Stein did not like giving speeches.

"Martha Cameron was my mother, and will forever be my mother. Family is not completely biology. Your family is the group of people that you surround yourself with that make you feel good inside. And Martha, my mother, taught me that." Stein began. That was enough for Marie to lose her composure, fresh tears rolling from her eyes.

"She took me in when I had nobody else in the entire world. Those that had me did not want me, but my mother, who did not have to take me in, chose to do so. And I think that is just as telling of love as a biological bond." Stein looked down at the man beside him, Thomas' breaths coming in short, hitching gasps as he tried to quell the sobs.

"My mother was a selfless woman, and is one of the few people I know who can truly be called that. She cared about others above all else, and that's how I think she'd want to be remembered. And that's how I want my mother to be remembered. As a woman who cared about…" Stein cleverly cleared his throat to cover the tiny tweak in his voice.

The general emotion of the room had even penetrated the cold exterior of the generally apathetic and emotionless meister.

"… A woman who cared about the people she loved. And lived for them."

The eulogy continued, with more tears being shed, but laughter and smiles as well.

"I still remember the…" Stein looked down at Thomas, who was still visibly upset. Thomas looked up at Stein's pause.

"I think you'll want to read this part." Stein said quietly. Thomas shakily grasped the tearstained page and sniffed loudly.

"I remember the d-day I came home and told her that I had a girlfriend." Thomas gave a small smile, accompanied with tear-choked laughter.

"She first asked me what was wrong with her." Thomas said, and the first genuine smile anyone in the room had seen from the man all day broke out on his face. The crowd laughed, Stitches giving a small smile and wiping lingering tears from her eyes.

"So, I told her that there was nothing wrong with her, but I didn't tell her who she was. And then she said something I'll never forget." Thomas looked at Stein, then to Stitches and Marie.

"She said _Well, let me guess, her father's going to be someone incomprehensibly terrifying, isn't he? Someone like father of your friend Stitches, the strongest meister ever to graduate from that school of yours._" Thomas shook his head and wiped his eyes, laughing slightly.

Marie and Stitches smiled and Stein shoved his hands in his pockets, even giving a smirk of his own.

"She nearly passed out when I told her that it was Stitches and she was right." Thomas laughed. The crowd seemed to have cheered up slightly by this point.

"And so, let us not cry at my mother's passing. I want us all to remember what a wonderful woman she was, and will be forever. And I will be a proud Cameron, forever." Thomas took a sharp breath in.

"And my children will know of their grandmother, who would have loved nothing more than to see them, to nurture them and to care for them. But, you know, in a way, she will. She's never going to leave. I'm sure, if she was here, she'd like to see you all try to get her to go. I love you, Mama." Thomas clutched the piece of paper and the tears returned.

"Come on, Thomas." Stein grabbed Thomas' shoulder and led him off of the podium, back to the seat next to Stitches.

"Oh, Thomas." she whispered, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend and letting him cry into her black dress. Stein turned to Marie, whose eyes were clouded with tears. He wrapped his arm around his wife as she clutched onto him tightly. She missed her friend dearly, as did everyone else in the room.

Mina grabbed Joseph's hand and squeezed it tightly as the sombre music started again. Thomas took Stitches' hand and stood up, both of them taking a rose from the basket next to the coffin and gripping it tightly.

"Goodbye, Mama." Thomas whispered, tears falling onto the casket as he placed the rose and gave one final goodbye.

"Goodbye, Martha, you gorgeous human being." Stitches said, leaning against Thomas' side and walking away from the coffin and into the morning tea room.

"Th-Thank you for being here, Stitches." Thomas shuddered. Stitches looked up at Thomas and kissed him gently and slowly, letting him know that she wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm always going to be here for you. Forever, Thomas. I swear." she whispered, grabbing the silver hammer that still graced her neck. Thomas gave a small, weary smile and looked up as the ex-Deathscythe and the scientist walked into the room.

"Thomas, sweetheart…" Marie walked over to her daughter's boyfriend and hugged him tightly. Thomas' head dropped to Marie's shoulder, his head buried into her hair.

"Marie…" he whispered. Marie pulled back and kissed Thomas on the cheek.

"I'm so sorry, honey." Marie pressed her hand to Thomas' cheek gently. She then stepped back and looked up at Stein.

"I really am sorry, Thomas." Stein shook Thomas' hand, and Thomas nodded.

"Thank you, Doctor." Thomas said with a sniffle. The next people to walk in were Mina and Joseph.

"Oh, baby brother." Mina strode to Thomas and hugged him tightly. Thomas hugged his fellow meister back and took a sharp breath in.

"Thanks, Mina." Thomas said, stepping back from the redhead. His weapon then stepped forward and looked him in the eyes.

"I'm really sorry, man." Joseph said, hugging his meister. Thomas began to sob once more, causing Stitches to recoil. It hurt her to see her boyfriend cry.

"We're gonna get through this, man. I promise." Joseph patted Thomas on the back and bit back his own tears.

"I'm sorry for being such a mess." Thomas shook his head. Everyone shook their own heads.

"Thomas, you lost someone dear to you. Don't apologise for showing how you feel about that." Stitches whispered. Thomas nodded and Stitches wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I love you." Thomas said. Stitches nodded.

"I love you too, Thomas." she replied. Thomas took her hand and led her outside, standing on the small grassy patch out the back of the funeral home.

"What is it, Thomas?" Stitches asked. Thomas sighed and pressed his hand to the side of Stitches' face.

"I'm sorry I've been such an ass the past couple of weeks." Thomas said. Stitches shook her head insistently.

"Don't you dare apologise, Thomas. You've been grieving." Stitches said.

"But-"

"There _are_ no buts, Thomas." Stitches said. Thomas nodded and fumbled around in his pocket, pulling out a small ring from his pocket.

"This was Mama's." Thomas said, and Stitches eyes widened.

"She wanted you to have it. She told me that it didn't matter whether we were together or not, this was for you." Thomas said. Stitches took a sharp breath in and gave a teary smile.

"I think she probably did care whether we were together or not." Stitches said, and Thomas gave a small smile.

"She would probably have take your side if we'd broken up." he mumbled, and Stitches gave a small laugh, setting Thomas at ease, if only for a while. She took off her silver hammer necklace and slid the ring onto the chain. She put the necklace back on and kissed Thomas gently.

"You don't ever have to apologise. Ever." Stitches whispered. Thomas embraced Stitches and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Thank you." he whispered. Stitches nodded and she walked back into the funeral home, hand in hand with Thomas.

"You two okay?" Mina asked. Stitches and Thomas nodded. Mina sighed and sat back onto the couch, crossing her legs.

"Martha was amazing." Stitches said. Thomas and Mina both nodded, and Stein, Marie and Joseph walked in on the conversation too.

"She was just always _there. _I'm pretty sure I drunk-dialled the poor woman a couple of times." Mina chuckled.

"We spent many nights talking for hours on end." Marie smiled. Stein smirked and nodded.

"I can vouch for that." he remarked. Joseph stood up, one hand in his pocket and the other grasping a glass.

"To Martha." he said, solemnly. Everyone nodded and put their glasses in.

"To Martha." they repeated.

"_To Mama._" Thomas said, quietly. Stitches heard it and wrapped her arm around Thomas' waist, leaning against him and looking over at her own parents.

She wouldn't know what to do if she lost either of them. But Thomas had lost the one woman who he had left in his family, and-

No. That was a lie.

Thomas had a family. He had Stitches, Joseph, Mina, Marie, Stein and everyone else.

But Martha had raised him. She'd taught him the ways of the world and taught him everything she could. She was gone before her time, yes, but she would never be forgotten.

Stitches leant up and kissed Thomas on the cheek.

"I love you. _We_ love you." she whispered. Thomas smiled, but past his guise and past his grief, he couldn't shake that nightmare. He couldn't shake the message he got from… _her._

**A/N: D:**

**Factoid #40: Though Martha's death arc has concluded, she will still influence this story – and we will certainly learn some more about her history.**


	22. Delving Even Deeper

**A/N: You know what? Have some Kid.**

It had been a few months since Martha's funeral, and though she had left a large gap, Stitches, Thomas, Mina and Joseph were finally regaining some normality in their lives.

Stitches thought that it was a good place to continue her research into Medusa and the black blood.

"Stitches, where are you going?" Thomas asked, turning over and noticing that it was incredibly early for his girlfriend to be awake.

"Uh… nowhere." Stitches said. Thomas groaned and sighed.

"Nowhere?" Thomas asked. Stitches sighed and pulled her sneakers on.

"I'll be back in a few hours, okay?" Stitches asked. Thomas sighed and scratched his head.

"Fine." Thomas said, reluctantly, turning over and beginning to go back to sleep. Stitches turned back to Thomas and leant over to him.

"Are you okay by yourself?" Stitches asked. Thomas turned over and nodded reassuringly.

"I'll be fine. Thanks." Thomas said, quietly. Stitches had become more protective since Martha's passing, but Thomas still needed that. Even though it had been a fair while, she was his mother, and he wasn't ashamed to say that he needed his girlfriend more than ever.

"Okay. Bye." Stitches kissed Thomas gently on the cheek and walked out of the room. She collected the books on Medusa and the black blood that she had hidden underneath the couch and put them in her satchel bag, as well as collecting the CD with the rather jarring interview on it.

She left the apartment and decided that she was going to go and see Mina with her class before going hardcore with the Medusa research. There was a particular boy she wanted to talk to – to teach him the art of dealing with male members of the Star clan.

* * *

Stitches walked into the gymnasium to see Mina in front of her three soul menace students, demonstrating some techniques on a poor, unsuspecting dummy.

"The areas that are most vulnerable to your wevelengths are here," Mina hit the dummy in the left side of the ribcage, "and here." Mina turned the dummy around and hit it in the place where its kidneys would be.

"It does not matter where I strike my foes," Spike held his hand up in the air, squeezing his eyes shut, "I will defeat them with my sheer power!"

"Okay, you really need to spend less time with your dad." Mina said. Spike laughed and crossed his arms. Kyo looked down and sighed, Daisy crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"Really, Spike?" she asked. Spike just laughed and Kyo continued to look bashful in the corner. Stitches walked up to them and smiled.

"How is everyone?" Stitches asked. Daisy smiled, Kyo looked up and gave a shy smile and Spike laughed.

"I am _great!_" Spike exclaimed.

"As always, Spike." Stitches chuckled, sticking her hands in her pockets. Mina smirked and leant on Stitches.

"So," Mina smirked at her weapon, "what is the woman I turned into a Deathscythe doing here?" Mina asked. Stitches laughed and sighed.

"Subtle. I'm fine." she gave a small smile. Mina walked up closer to her so that she could speak quietly.

"How's baby brother?" Mina asked. Stitches nodded with her eyes closed.

"He's not too bad. He's not great, and he'll probably spend most of today in bed, but I'm giving it time." Stitches said. Mina nodded before stepping back, watching as Stitches' eyes flicked to Kyo.

"I was just wondering if I could have a little chat with Kyo." Stitches asked. The brown haired boy looked slightly shocked.

"M-Me?" he asked. Stitches smiled and nodded. Kyo walked towards her and they walked out to the foyer outside the gymnasium.

"What is is that you want, Miss Stein?" Kyo asked. Stitches laughed and smiled.

"Please, call me Stitches." Stitches said. Kyo blinked and clasped his hands, wringing them nervously.

"O-Okay." he said. Stitches sighed and her hands returned to her pockets.

"So… you've got Soul Menace, right?" Stitches asked. Kyo nodded.

"Yeah… look, you're really talented. I know it, okay? And… I've been raised to know that it's a tragedy to see power wasted." Stitches said. Kyo sighed and dropped his hands.

"It's just… Spike, he's really loud. And he… he's just overpowering." Kyo mumbled. Stitches nodded.

"I know. There are people like that. But, you're incredibly talented. Sure, Spike and Daisy are Star Clan descendants. But you're just as talented. If not more so. So, you know… go for it." Stitches said. Kyo sighed and nodded.

"Okay. Thank you, Stitches." Kyo nodded. He walked back into the gymnasium and Stitches watched as he walked back over to Mina, Spike and Daisy.

"Right. Who's up for a spar? Spike and Da-"

"Uh, Mina-sensei… I'd like to spar today." Kyo said, shakily. Mina's eyes widened but she nodded.

"Alright, Kyo, step up with Spike." Mina stepped back to make way for the two young men, and Stitches watched on eagerly as the spar began.

Unfortunately, within a couple of seconds, Spike had hit Kyo with his soul wavelength and Kyo was on the ground. Stitches winced and sighed.

"Kyo… are you alright?" Mina asked. Kyo coughed and nodded, a tiny grin on his face.

"That was cool." he choked. Mina rolled her eyes and helped the brunette to his feet.

"Boys. I still don't understand you." Mina told Kyo, and that was enough for Stitches to be at ease. She walked out of the gymnasium, ready to restart her research.

* * *

_Medusa Gorgon, one of the three Gorgon sisters, infiltrated Shinigami-sama's institution, the Death Weapon Meister Academy, as a nurse in order to study the effect that black blood had on a number of students. These students eventually came to include her own child, Crona Gorgon._

"Number of students… Maka and Soul." Stitches thought to herself.

_The black blood had a profound effect on these students, but the most predominant havoc Medusa caused involved the spread of madness. One of the DWMA's teachers was particularly susceptible to said madness, and Medusa's magic worsened the dormant infection within him._

"Papa." Stitches whispered.

_A Deathscythe at the time, who wishes to remain anonymous, told of the way that she was implanted with one of Medusa's magical snakes in order to heighten the effect of madness on the teacher. _

"Wait… who?" Stitches asked, and she continued to read.

"_Medusa's child implanted a snake into me using a cup of tea, and in doing so, I exacerbated the madness stirring within him (the affected teacher). As I was living with him, I constantly worsened his madness without knowing it."_

"It was Mama. Mama had a snake implanted in her." Stitches sat back and continued to read.

_Whilst Medusa was purged of her witch powers, investigations suggest that her soul remained, and that she assumed an identity and took over another body. Rumours also purport that Medusa may have produced another progeny in order to experiment further, but these claims are not backed up by any physical evidence._

Stitches was jolted when she heard a voice from behind her, and not one that she expected to hear in the library of the academy.

"Stitches-chan?" a garish voice asked.

"Aunty Stitches! What are you doing here?" a significantly younger voice, Junior's voice, asked as he sat down next to her.

"Uh… nothing much." Stitches said, and as she did so, an arm stretched over her shoulder and picked up the book she was reading.

"Okay…" Stitches stood up and back, only to be met with the eyes of not one, not two, but _three_ shinigami.

"Good to see you here!" Shinigami-sama exclaimed. Stitches' eyes flicked backwards and forwards from Shinigami-sama to Kid, from Kid to Junior and back to Shinigami-sama.

"Yeah… what are you guys doing here?" Stitches asked. Shinigami-sama clapped his hands together and chuckled.

"We're showing Junior around!" Shinigami-sama exclaimed. Kid nodded and leant down to Junior.

"Do you want to keep going around with Grandpa? I've got to talk to Stitches for a minute." Kid said. Junior nodded and hugged Stitches. She smiled and hugged him back.

"You look after your grandpa, now, okay?" Stitches asked. Junior nodded and he walked away with Shinigami-sama. Kid sat down next to Stitches, clasped his hands and sighed.

"You're looking at Medusa and the black blood?" Kid asked. Stitches gave an exasperated sigh and crossed her arms.

"You coming to tell me off too?" Stitches asked. Kid shook his head.

"No… Back when Doctor Stein was starting to fall to the madness, before you were around, I started my own line of inquiry. And I couldn't do a lot, especially with the reawakening of Asura. But… I think you should tell your parents." Kid said. Stitches sat back and dropped her shoulders.

"Kid, I… I'm not sure they'll look at it too kindly." Stitches muttered.

"You don't want to go too deep without them knowing, trust me." Kid said. Stitches sighed.

"Maka and I are just worried that you're going to find out something that's going to hurt you and you're not going to have your parents to talk to about it." Kid added. Stitches sat forward and nodded.

"I know… I know, I just… I really want to know things. But I can't exactly go _Hey, Mama, Papa, remember when Papa left because he went insane and traumatised everyone?_ Because that's… It's crossing a line that I don't know we can come back from." Stitches said, ashamedly.

"So, you're worried about losing your parents. That's a reasonable fear to have." Kid said.

"It's just… the madness, it hurts. It physically _hurts._ And, I mean, I know you've had times where you've been afflicted, but… for Papa and I, it's a chronic disease. And I don't know how I'd react if someone wanted to know the gory, in-depth details about something painful like that. If you pulled up a seat and asked me what it was like last time I was mad, I'd throttle you." Stitches muttered. Kid nodded and sighed.

"Your parents are there for you, Stitches." Kid reminded the deathscythe.

"I know… I'm just conflicted, is all." Stitches said. Kid nodded.

"Trust me… It will get better if you tell them, I promise you that. Maybe not straight away, but, eventually." Kid said. Stitches nodded and smiled.

"Thanks, Kid." she said. Kid nodded and stood up, walking out of the library.

Sure, the shinigami had helped her clear some things up. But she was still worried about telling her parents. As it was natural to be. She squeezed her eyes shut and made a difficult decision.

She stood up and began to make her way to the laboratory.

**A/N: I quite like Kid – especially experimenting with developing him into an adult and a father, etc. It's something I never thought I'd do in this story, but it's just the way it went.**

**Factoid #41: Perhaps the most distinct thing Stitches inherited from Marie was her way of coping and resolving things. Her morality is a lot more straight-forward than Stein's, and whilst she still makes mistakes, morals are at the core of everything she does. She's unselfish in her motives – though sometimes people don't see it that way, as we'll find out in the next chapter.**


	23. Fleeing In Fear

**A/N: This chapter follows on almost immediately from the last chapter. **

"… Please say something."

Stein sat there in stunned silence, and Marie's eyes seemed to quiver. She stood up and walked forward, resting her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"I need you to remember that I love you." Marie took a sharp breath in. Stitches' eyes began to water and she trembled.

"Despite this, I love you and I am still proud of you… but I don't know what to say now. I'm not angry, I just… I need some time to myself." Marie said. She then took her hand off of Stitches' shoulder and walked out of the room, into the bedroom, and shut the door behind her.

Stitches then blinked up at her father, who sat forward and clasped his hands.

"Papa, I…" Stitches trailed off.

"It's your mother that's going to be affected by this Medusa research." Stein said. Stitches shook her head, for she knew what was going to happen next.

"And I can see that she's hurt by this. And, so, I don't know what to say." Stein said.

"Papa, please, I just wanted to-"

"You've always had wisdom beyond your years, Stitches. But this was… this was foolish." Stein said. Stitches sat forward and crossed her arms.

"Papa, please try to understand!" she exclaimed.

"No, Stitches. I can't understand. I can't understand why you'd want to bring up such painful memories for your mother and I." Stein stated simply. Stitches shook her head and felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Papa…" Stitches murmured.

"You need to stop explaining yourself. Okay? Your mother and I, we're not… We just need to process this." Stein said. Stitches went to speak but Stein continued.

"I think it's best if you go. We understand what you've said to us, but we can't yet process the reason. I think you should just let us work through this." Stein's voice dropped to barely a murmur. Stitches stood up and clenched her fists.

"I thought you, of _all people_, would understand! The need for knowledge! Is it so bad that I want to know what hurt you so that I don't go around being ignorant? Is it so bad?!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, it is," Stein stated, "because there are some stones better left unturned."

"Don't spout proverbs at me, Papa." Stitches snapped.

"What you did wasn't right, Stitches. It's for yourself, not for us! But, please, let me know what you want me to say. Spill your infinite wisdom." Stein's sarcastic edge shut Stitches down.

"I don't want to talk to you." Stitches dropped her head and went to walk out of the laboratory.

"Stitches, don't do it this way. Neither your mother or I resent you for what you've done, but you need to understand-" Stein said. Stitches growled and turned around.

"_Don't, Papa! _Sure, you don't resent me for what I've done. You just resent _what_ I've done, and you don't want me to go any further. Well, excuse me for wanting to understand what hurt the two people I love the most so much." Stitches snapped. Stein shook his head.

"You need time to calm down. I've learnt to understand that. But your mother and I need to-"

"Quit with the clinical allegory, Papa. I get it. Just think about it, fine, whatever. I'm going." Stitches turned around and pushed open the laboratory doors, fleeing down the stairs as they crashed shut behind her.

Stitches never fought with her parents, so she didn't know what it felt like.

She now knew she didn't want to know.

She didn't want to talk to Mina, Thomas, Maka, Joseph… she didn't want to talk to anyone.

She knew where she was going. She'd found out about Medusa's old hideout outside of Death City, and that's where she was certain everything would come together.

Stitches set off for the hideout, wiping the tears from her eyes all the while.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Stitches made it to Medusa's cave.

She stood at the large, cavernous opening to the hideout and looked around. Spatters of blood covered the walls; she couldn't help but wonder how much of that blood was from her father, or her mother, or Medusa herself.

Before walking into the hideout, she looked at her phone. She had messages, and she read them before she entered the cave. Some of them very nearly made her turn back.

_**From: Mina**_

_Where are you at? Everyone's freaking out, Stitches. You need to get back here._

_**From: Joseph**_

_Stitches, you okay? Mina's really worried about you – I'm really worried about you. Get back to us._

_**From: Maka**_

_Stitches, where are you? Everyone's worried, and Kid's a mess. He talked to you and now you're gone – I want to make sure you're okay._

_**From: Cleo**_

_I just got word that nobody's sure where you are, Stitches. Come back – we're all worried._

But it was the last text message the Stitches read that came the closest to throwing a spanner into the works.

_**From: Thomas**_

_Stitches, I need to know where you are. I had the nightmare again, Stitches, and there's something I need to tell you about it, but I have to tell you in person. Just tell me that you're safe… Please. I'm not going to be able to cope, I can't lose you. Not you too. I love you. I miss you. And I'm so worried… please get back to me. Please. _

Stitches gasped – Thomas hadn't had the nightmares since the first time, just after Martha died – and what could he need to tell her? It almost made her turn back, but unfortunately, by the time Stitches had begun her reply to the blonde meister, she had entered the cave. She felt a wave of… _something…_ hitting her. Her phone dropped to the ground and her eyes widened.

"Stein, the second. The _wunderkind._ The fabled child."

Stitches turned around and her eyes flicked over the figure. She was frozen in shock.

The black jumpsuit, the eyes, the snakes…

"Y-You… Medusa… you're dead."

"It's awful, everyone seems to get told these things but me!" the witch jumped from her perch and landed in front of Stitches. She instinctively half-formed, wielding her mallet-like hand towards the witch.

"Oh, don't tell me," Medusa snorted, "Stein had a child with that _insipid_ hammer woman."

"_Watch it,_" Stitches hissed, "that's my mother you're tal_k_ing about."

"I know, I know… so this is what we could have had, Stein and I. Minus all the flaws that woman gave you, of course." Medusa circled the silver-haired hammer.

"He'd _never_ have left with you. _Never._ And you can _stop_ talking about my _mother_ like that._" _Stitches swiped at Medusa, but she jumped backwards and laughed.

"You can keep telling yourself that your father wouldn't have left with me… We could have had someone more brilliant than _you._ But you… you've a fatal flaw." Medusa replied.

"What's that?" Stitches asked. Medusa laughed and she hovered in front of the silver-haired hammer.

"You're a moral person. You care for others." Medusa laughed.

"It's not a flaw. It's a trait I gained from _both_ of my parents." Stitches hissed.

"Oh, yes, your father, the moral compass of Death City!" Medusa cried. Stitches growled and clenched her unformed fist.

"How long have you been down here?" she asked. Medusa laughed and shrugged.

"That's none of your business." Medusa hovered in front of the silver haired deathscythe.

"Oh, I think it is. In case you hadn't heard, I'm a Deathscythe. And it's my duty to-" Stitches stopped talking when Medusa began to laugh.

"Of course I know that! I know more about you than you know about yourself." the witch laughed.

"No, you don't." Stitches replied.

"Shelley Yumi Stein. Your birthday is the 2nd of February." Medusa began. Stitches' eyes widened and she growled.

"Well, I think you know that I know who your parents are_. _I know more about Mina West than you do,and as for that Thomas boy… well, let's just say we're acquainted._" _Medusa hissed.

"You can't affect him! He's invulnerable to your madness!" Stitches took her half form and jumped at the witch, screaming.

"Invulnerable to madness… ridiculous." Medusa spat, hovering backwards on a tentative vector arrow. Stitches laughed and her pupils shrunk as she cracked her neck.

"It's not, and he is… Me, on the other hand…that's a whole different story." Stitches said. She squeezed her eyes shut, and when they reopened, the look in them changed.

"Oh, isn't that _cute? _The girl thinks she's mad! Well, I hate to inform you, but madness is _my_ game, little girl." Medusa hissed. Stitches smirked.

"Have you met my father?" she asked.

"Oh, I've more than _met_ him." Medusa retorted. Stitches narrowed her eyes and prepared to fight.

"If you think you're going to beat me," Stitches hissed, "then _try again._"

* * *

The blonde man came running up the stairs with immense speed, bursting through the laboratory doors and jolting the blonde woman behind them.

"Thomas?" she asked, worriedly.

"Stitches is gone." Thomas panted. Marie stood, up, her uncovered eye wide.

"What? What do you mean?" Marie walked swiftly over to the blonde boy, his expression stuck somewhere between sadness, shock and determination.

"I went to hers and Mina's apartment, because Mina was over at our apartment, and Stitches was gone." Thomas exclaimed. Marie clasped her hand over her mouth before putting her hands on her hips.

"Where could she be?" Marie asked.

"I… I found this." Thomas pulled a small, folded up piece of paper out of his pocket. Marie took the piece of paper and opened it, reading it aloud.

"_Gone to do research. _This is all she left?" Marie asked. Thomas nodded frantically and glanced up as Stein walked out of his laboratory.

"What's wrong?" Stein asked. Marie turned to him, tears in her eye.

"Stitches is _gone, _Stein! She's missing!" Marie exclaimed. Stein's eyes widened and he strode forward, grasping Marie's shoulder and looking up at Thomas.

"I went to her apartment and she was gone. I didn't do anything, I swear." Thomas held his hands up.

"I didn't think you did do anything. Give yourself some credit." Stein walked over to his desk as he spoke frenziedly.

"Right. How long has she been missing?" Stein asked.

"I don't know. Last I heard, she came to talk to you yesterday afternoon." Thomas said. Marie's eyes widened and she began to hyperventilate.

"Oh, Death, Stein, what have I done?" Marie asked.

"Marie, you didn't do anything wrong." Thomas said, walking over to the blonde woman and taking her hand in his own. Marie looked up at him and shook her head.

"Thomas, I… No, I did! I'm a terrible m-"

"Don't," Stein snapped, "I told you never to say that nineteen years ago. It still stands." Stein strode over to the laboratory doors, but upon realising that nobody was following, he turned around.

"Are you coming or not?" Stein asked.

"Where?" Thomas asked.

"To Shinigami-sama. A Deathscythe is AWOL, Thomas. You know the procedure; as three-star meisters, we're obligated to report this." Stein said, walking back over to the two of them and taking his wife's hand.

"She is going to be fine. I promise you that." Stein said, quietly. Marie nodded, tearily, and stood up. Stein kept a firm hold on her hand as Thomas followed them out of the laboratory.

**A/N: WOW EVERYONE'S FAVOURITE WITCH IS BACK**

**Factoid #42: While I'm not the greatest fan of Medusa, I must admit she's quite fun to write. I'd write Marie over Medusa any day, but sometimes it's nice to go back to that snarky, sadistic type of character, especially seeing as this story has seen Stein develop past that.**


	24. A Coaxed Confession

**A/N: For these next chapters, keep your story arc mind open. You've been warned.**

The final few came into the Death Room, and nobody had ever seen it so full. There was barely room to move, and they were all there for one reason – Stitches. The myriad of people had only gathered before the Death God after hearing word that Stitches was missing.

"Well… judging by the turnout, I gather you all know that we have a Deathscythe AWOL. Shelley Stein is unaccounted for, and has been for over 24 hours." Shinigami-sama said.

Officially, only the current Deathscythes needed to be summoned. But, at the back, behind Joseph, Tsubaki, Soul, Liz, Patti, Azusa and Justin, stood an array of people. Thomas, Mina, Stein, Marie, Maka, Kid, Spirit, Sid, Naigus and Black*Star were there too.

"We can't _officially_ send anyone. However, I can grant you Deathscythes leave if you wish to help with the retrieval mission. Anyone else may… feel free to join of their own accord." Shinigami-sama informed them.

Bending the rules was something that needed to be done in this situation - and Shinigami-sama made the rules anyway. Everyone nodded and took their weapons.

Maka took Soul's handle after he transformed.

Liz and Patti transformed in flashes of pink light and sat in holsters on Kid's hips.

Black*Star watched as Tsubaki's chain scythe form fell into his hands.

Thomas took Joseph and held the gun's trigger lightly.

Sid caught Naigus and shoved her into the sheath on his back.

Mina took Spirit and could also resonate with Azusa for clairvoyance if need be.

Justin would take his autonomous form when needed.

"Franken, are you going to be alright with the stress?" Marie asked. Stein looked down at Marie.

"I don't care. This is Stitches we're talking about." Stein spoke in a voice obviously brimming with agitation, covered with only a thin guise of clinical composure.

"Alright. Are we all ready?" Stein asked. The whole group called out noises of affirmation, and Stein nodded.

"Are you ready?" Stein glanced at Marie, and she nodded, transforming into a tonfa in a flash of yellow light.

"Alright. Let's go." Stein turned around and led the charge out of the Death Room, the horde of weapons and meisters alike following him.

* * *

"Oh, this is _cute."_

"I'm not cute, Medusa." Stitches hissed, launching herself off of one of the stone pillars and swiping at the witch, but she missed as she had every time before.

"You're not a very good aim. In fact," Medusa laughed, "you're just not very good at much! You _do _take after your mother!"

"_Stop it!_" Stitches screamed. Medusa laughed further, laughing so much that she nearly fell off of her Vector Arrow.

"You're very defensive of this mother of yours." Medusa replied.

"Of course I am! She's my mother! You should _understand! _You may be a witch butyou're a mother too, Medusa!" Stitches cried.

"Oh, please," Medusa brushed off the comment, "even if I did _love_ Crona once, once I'd finished with my experiments, the child was of no use to me. And even Crona was more useful than the worthless child I had after that Albarn child purged my witch powers." Stitches' eyes widened.

So it _was_ true, she did have another child.

"_That poor experiment."_ Stitches thought, but she could not focus on the thoughts. She snarled and shook her head.

"How could you say that? How could you not _love_ your own children?!" Stitches asked.

"Well… you should know after all these years." Medusa called. Stitches stood, dumbstruck at the witch's comment.

"… Excuse me?" Stitches asked.

"Well… your father doesn't love you. Why would he?" Medusa hissed.

In her head, she knew it was mind games. She knew that Medusa was trying to put her off her game; of course she was, she was a Gorgon in hiding who didn't want to be discovered.

But that knowledge didn't stop the tears welling up in Stitches' eyes. That didn't stop the yell she let out and the speed at which she charged at the witch.

"You don't know _anything!_ He loves me, something you're _never_ going to be able to do!" Stitches shrieked as she swiped at Medusa once more.

"You can keep telling yourself that. But, the truth is," Medusa smirked, "he can't love. Which is why we'd have been perfect together."

"_Liar!" _Stitches yelled.

"Oh, please. Neither of us can love, but we can hate. And, oh, how well we would have hated one another." Medusa said.

"Stop talking! Just stop! You're ignorant and I can't take it anymore!" Stitches yelled.

"I'm ignorant? You've got no idea what your father did before you came along." Medusa shook her head.

"That's what you think. I've done research on what you did to them, Medusa." Stitches replied.

"Oh, you've read some books? Delightful. You know nothing of the anarchist world I want to create… and I'm sure I can sway your father back." Medusa smirked. Stitches smirked back and laughed.

"See, that's where you're _wrong._ It's been twenty years, Medusa. Sure, you may have been trapped in this little bubble of yours… but things change. And my father… he's changed." Stitches said.

"Not at the core, my dear. _Not at the core._" Medusa hissed. She then held her hands up and murmured a chant under her breath.

"_Vector Arrow!_"

Stitches jumped to the ground, narrowly missing the arrows. She looked up at Medusa and shook her head.

"He's changed for nothing but the better. He's rid of _you._" Stitches snarled.

* * *

"Doctor Stein, I can't sense it." Kid said.

"Tell me about it. I can't either." Stein said. His situation wasn't helped by his increasing agitation at the fact that he couldn't sense his own daughter's soul. Marie, who had taken human form with the other weapons when they had gotten safely out of central Death City, was walking next to Thomas, who was slightly uncomfortable.

"What is it, honey?" Marie asked. Thomas bit his lip and sighed, looking up at her.

"I just… nothing, it's stupid." Thomas brushed the comment away. Marie put her hand on Thomas' arm.

"Tell me, Thomas." she said, calmly. Thomas bit the inside of his lip and sighed.

"I just… I don't want to lose Stitches. And that's so stupid of me to say – she's your _daughter_ and _I'm_ the one worrying and I-" Thomas was cut off when Marie shook her head.

"Honey, she's a woman you've known for almost half of your life, and you've been dating for _four years. _You've got every right to be just as worried as Stein, Mina or I are." Marie said. Thomas nodded and inhaled.

"Thomas!" he called. Thomas stiffened and he walked swiftly to the front of the group.

"Doctor?" he asked.

"You have the note she left?" Stein asked. Thomas pulled it out of his pocket and read it.

"_Gone to do research. _That's all it says." Thomas said. Stein furrowed his eyebrows and Thomas' eyes widened.

"What is it?" Stein asked. Thomas gasped and he went to speak, but no words would come. His godsend came in the form of the redheaded scythe who approached the front of the group.

"Stein. She's been researching _Medusa._" Spirit stated. Stein stopped.

"_Of course._" he muttered.

"Alright, everyone, come on." Stein strode off and the whole group followed the silver-haired scientist deep into the forest. All but Thomas, who stood upright, eyes wide. Stein's head jerked up and his eyes widened.

"_Finally._ Her soul. I can sense it. Let's get moving." Stein said. The group picked up the pace swiftly, but Thomas remained perfectly still. Marie noticed and stopped the group, causing the man to whimper. Stein walked back to the blonde man and stopped.

"What is it?" Stein asked. Thomas stammered and his eyes flicked to Stein.

"I can't… I can't tell you." Thomas shook his head and Stein stopped. Thomas gasped and Stein turned to him, staring him down.

"What is it? I don't want anyone compromising this. _Tell me._" Stein demanded. Marie grasped Stein's shoulder and walked in front of him.

"It's okay. I'll talk to him." she murmured, and Stein glared at the blonde man trembling in front of him. Marie looked at Thomas gently.

"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Marie rested her hand on Thomas' arm and his eyes flicked to her, brimming with tears.

"I… I… No. We have to get Stitches, ignore me." Thomas shook his head and tried to hide from the group where all eyes were on him. Marie turned to them.

"You go on. We can catch up." Marie said. Stein nodded and led the group swiftly away, and Marie looked at Thomas.

"You can tell me, Thomas. Anything. You know that." Marie said. Thomas took a deep breath and looked at Marie.

"I don't know i-if Stitches told you, but… I've had nightmares." Thomas said, shakily. Marie nodded.

"She's mentioned it. Since Martha died, right?" Marie asked. Thomas nodded and looked at Marie.

"A-And in them, S-Stitches keeps getting taken. B-But I started going with her and… and I recognise who takes us. And she keeps telling me that she… she's my mother." Thomas said. Marie looked up at him and he took a deep breath.

"Who is it?" Marie asked. Thomas' eyes darted, and he didn't want to say it. He didn't even want acknowledge the possibility that his subconscious could be anywhere close to right about his biological mother. But, he had to tell Marie – the way she was looking at him, her eyes full of sympathy and worry.

He couldn't tell whether it was his subconscious playing tricks on him or if it was something cruel done to him at birth so that he would never really forget who his mother was.

He swallowed dryly and looked to Marie again, and after one deep breath, he spoke.

"… _Medusa."_


End file.
